Empire's Hand
by stalkerace
Summary: Harry Potter snaps after the death of Sirius and one too many beatings from his uncle. His magical burst allows interesting allies to find him.
1. Chapter 1

Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to apologize for placing the wrong introduction in this work. The former introduction that was supposed to be here was supposed to be for my other project, not this one. Again, I would like to apologize.

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><p>Also, this is rather explicit, so if you do not want that stuff, then please do not read. The explicit staff includes sex, abuse, violence, and very likely, war.<p>

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><p>Final Warning: The rating of this work is M for a reason ladies and gentlemen, if you are not rated to read M rated works, please do not continue. Return when you have passed the qualification which varies among countries as I understand it. In my country, it's apparently eighteen, but if we are not countrymen, I apologize, I do not know what age you have to be to be considered as an adult. So again, if you are not considered an adult yet, please come back some other time.<p>

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><p>DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything<p>

**ONE**

**Privet Drive, Surrey**

**England, United Kingdom**

The screams of the boy as his legal guardian chased him all over the house with the intention of beating him up for besmirching his 'good reputation' was really not that loud.

The boy, or rather, the young man, was already used to it by now, and he knows that if he were to scream too loudly, his uncle would actually get angrier. Screaming loudly for help would also not bring any comfort since the only two other people in this small house actually encourages the beating, and, for some reason, the neighbors cannot hear him when he is shouting.

_Not that it matters_, fifteen year old Harry James Potter thought to himself, for he knows that the rest of the neighborhood has already been informed that he is a lazy, good for nothing, lay-about who attends a school for the criminally insane. He knows that even if the neighbors hear what is happening, they would probably just assume that he deserves what he is going through.

Harry James Potter was fifteen years old, but he is no ordinary fifteen year old boy. At eleven, he killed his first man, at twelve, he killed a sixty foot long snake that has the power to kill with a stare, literally, at thirteen, he was attacked by a horde of soul-sucking creatures that feed on despair, at fourteen, he fought a dragon, and witnessed the revival of the evilest creature in the world hell bent on killing him, even if he had supposedly killed the wizard when he was barely a toddler, only escaping because of luck while carrying the body of a fellow student who was killed.

Even in the world where he truly belonged, Harry knows that he is different.

The last year in his magical school, a magical castle up north in Scotland called Hogwarts, was, by far, the worst. He did not even need to get there for it to begin, first, he was attacked by two soul-sucking dementors, charged with underage magic to fight against them in front of the whole bloody Wizengamot, have one of the worst professors in the history of education while they are supposed to have a life-altering exam at the end of the year, and then have extra lessons with the professor who hated you since he first saw you.

The final thing that made Harry snap was something that happened less than a month ago. Having been falsely lured into the Ministry of Magic, he and five of his friends, the aptly named 'Ministry Six' faced against the inner circle of this self-styled dark lord, calling himself 'Lord Voldemort', and then faced no-nose himself.

They were beaten, Harry knew, but the arrival of reinforcements had more than turned the tide for them, until Sirius Black, Harry's godfather and the closest thing that he has to a father figure, was hit by a wrong stunner and fell to his death.

Strangely, however, Harry was not thinking of his godfather's death all that much. Yes, he thinks about him, but if he were to count, he found himself thinking more about a certain brown haired girl than he is thinking about his godfather.

The sound of the leather belt hitting his skin caused young Harry to return to the present, and he winced in pain. He had, however, learned to control himself and was successful in preventing himself from screaming loud, something that he is sure would just bring more welts from the leather belt.

"Bloody no good boy" his uncle, Vernon Dursley, said as he brought the leather belt back up to hit Harry once again, "I suppose that your godfather was not there because they do not allow criminals there? I hope your godfather dies a horrible death" and then he brought the belt back down.

Vernon Dursley was utterly terrified of anything magical. Whether he had a bad experience when he was younger with a magician who did not draw the right card while performing his illusions, or if it was just genetically built into him, one would never know. All that matters is he is terrified of magic.

The over-weight man brought his belt back up again, intending to hit the young boy again when he was suddenly terrified beyond his wits. His first instinct was to look behind him, to see if this was normal, but when he cannot see anything wrong there, he turned his attention towards Harry, and was surprised.

The usually unruly black hair of his nephew was flying everywhere, as he sat on what can only be described as a tornado. For some reason, this made the large man smile as he taunted his nephew, "You'll be expelled for sure"

The voice that answered him was a voice that Vernon has never heard before, it was not his nephews, but it came from the boy, and it even timed with the opening of the mouth of the boy, "I do not care anymore" the voice said, "If they expel me, then it only means that I can do whatever magic I want without their interference"

Harry extended his right hand in a pushing motion towards his uncle, and Vernon suddenly found himself flying across the room, he hit the far wall with a loud thud and then he dropped to the floor like a used doll.

Aunt Petunia, Vernon's wife, and Dudley, their son, was waiting outside the door of the bedroom, both enjoying the sound of the leather belt hitting the skin of the boy. When they heard the thud, they instinctively knew that it was not Harry, probably because it was a loud thud, and they knew that something was wrong. They opened the door and saw Harry standing there with the tornado still whirling around him.

Aunt Petunia squealed at the site of her husband lying like a broken doll on the floor, but Dudley was made of sterner stuff, he raised his first in a way that suggested that he wanted to punch his cousin, and then he charged forward, only to find himself suddenly blind and deaf.

Aunt Petunia, who was still shocked, suffered from the same maladies, but Harry, who had created a shield in front of him when he saw the canister being thrown into the room, was safe. He was temporarily blind, yes, but it only took a second or two before his vision returned, and when his vision returned, he saw men in front of him.

These men were dressed and equipped like muggle SWAT. They reminded Harry of the time when he was able to sneak from his cupboard peephole and watch the same show as Dudley. He was supposedly prohibited to watch them because they are violent, yet, he cannot figure out why the more violent Dudley was allowed to watch them in the first place.

Harry knew that SWAT teams usually wear black to distinguish them from their regular police brethren, but these men, while wearing what appears to be standard SWAT gear, are all dressed in camouflage colors. What confused Harry more was the patch on their right shoulders, which he saw as one of the men kicked his uncle, none too friendly, at the stomach to see if he is still alive, since the man apparently smiled when his uncle grunted.

The patch was a flag, but it was not the British flag, though it looked a lot like it. the cross was relegated to the upper left side of the flag, while a crown, with its top pointing to the right side, dominates the right side. Under the cross are two creatures, and Harry was surprised when he realized that the creatures was a griffin and a unicorn.

What made him more surprised, however, was the fact that the men does not appear to be concerned about him. He briefly wondered if he had become invincible, but when he saw that the men were all looking at him, he realized that this is not the case. It, however, made things far more complicated, since Harry was not sure how they should react upon seeing such a magical release. A part of the brain of the young man was wondering if the magical law enforcement had started to create their own SWAT teams, but realized that that was foolish since the pureblooded bigots in control of the ministry would never stoop to using muggle weapons, and these men are carrying them.

Harry calmed down after a few moments, but he eyed the men suspiciously.

One of the men, possibly the leader, removed his gas mask and approached Harry, "my lord" he said, and when he noticed the blank expression on the face of Harry, he added, "My name is Alvin Jenkins," he breathed in once and added the phrase that their commanding officer back home had said would convince their charge that they are friends, "Moony had sent us, because his furry little problem is keeping him at home, though he did say that this is a good thing so that he can plan the next marauder joke. He also says that Padfoot and Prongs would be ultimately proud of you in the end, while Wormtail can kiss the ass of Voldemort all he wants"

Harry nodded, lowering his guard. He really did not think that Death Eaters would use muggle disguises, especially since they considered themselves above that, but what convinced him that these men are allies was what their apparent leader had said. It was clear that they have been sent by Lupin.

"Who are you guys?" Harry asked as he retrieved his wand.

With obvious pride in his voice, Alvin Jenkins said, "Holy Empire of Britannia Special Air Service 'B' Squadron, my lord" he signaled to his men who promptly secured the room and placed some kind of device on the four corners of the room, "with your permission, my lord, we need to get out of here"

Harry nodded, and then watched as Jenkins signaled all of his men to surround Harry. There was apparently a total of fifteen men in this unit, and two minutes later, all of them wee surrounding Harry, their gazes pointing outwards. Jenkins checked his men to make sure that they are ready, and once he was satisfied, he pressed a button. The four devices on the corners of the room activated, producing a blinding yellow light that overloaded the eyes of Harry and anyone who is outside the room that could have been watching. Within five seconds, it was over, but when the light cleared, not only was Harry and the armed men not in the room, the bed, and all other things that are inside the room are missing as well, even the hidden floorboard where Harry kept some of his books had disappeared as well.

The device, however, did not take everything, as Vernon Dursley later awoke in an empty bedroom.

**Hogwarts School**

**Scotland**

Albus Dumbledore had just recently managed to fix his office after the temper tantrum that Harry had thrown. The old wizard felt his brows meeting together at the center, a sign that he was angry, even as he thought about how the brat had smashed the office, but he reminded himself that he needed to remain in the good graces of the boy if all of his plans to be the richest, most powerful and well respected wizard is to continue.

The old man was sitting at his office, his foot over the desk while he sucked on a lemon drop like a kid, with a smug on his face as he mentally congratulated himself on his expert manipulations.

Over the years, the old wizard had stolen close to half a million galleons from the vault of the family of his favorite pawn – Harry Potter – to finance his own illegal and highly questionable habits, one of which was currently sitting on the floor underneath his desk.

The headmaster who was in charge of at least five hundred students, more than half of them female, would never have brought his 'pet' inside the castle when there are other students in the school, but since this was the summer holidays, he knew that this would be safe.

He thought he was being smart when he managed to placate the young boy enough to convince him to return to his relatives. He did not think that the boy would buy the Blood Wards illusion that well, and he was congratulating himself on making the boy befriend the stupid youngest Weasley boy. Thanks to the secret charms that he had placed over the residence, no one but the old wizard knows where the boy is being kept, and though the Weasley twins were able to find him, that was mostly because Albus Dumbledore allowed them, without his permission, no one can find the boy.

Keeping the boy in dark is imperative for him to fulfill his role as a pawn, but after the death of Sirius, this had become more imperative since the boy must not be made aware that his godfather had left a will. It could make him start asking questions as to his parents will, and Dumbledore cannot allow that since Dumbledore had disregarded that will despite the fact that he had signed it.

The old man was wondering what to do next with his 'pet', whether to have a bath where she would massage him using those wonderfully firm breasts of hers, or if he would rather relieve his rather hard wand by having her take him in her mouth, when the silver instruments in a flat surface located in front of his desk started to vibrate abnormally.

This were the same instruments that Dumbledore had only recently repaired, by his own hand since allowing others to touch it would render them useless, just this morning, and these are the instruments that monitor his favorite pawn, and he had observed that they vibrate whenever Harry is using magic.

The wizard stood up, stepping accidentally on the hand of the girl that was underneath his desk, and not even muttering an apology to the girl before he stood in front of the instruments. Unfortunately for him, at the exact moment that he stopped, the silver instruments shattered, and only a quick shield charm prevented the death of Albus Dumbledore as thousands of silver pieces shot out at all directions, shattering wooden frames and desks. The unfortunate girl underneath his desk was not lucky, she did not even see the pieces that killed her, they came from behind her, piercing the desk and then headed straight to the back of her head and her spine. She was dead even before she knew what the hell was going on.

As for Albus, his shield charm was powerful enough to keep him from getting killed. Unfortunately, it was not powerful enough to keep him from being hit in the head by the largest piece that shot out. The self-styled 'Leader of Light' felt the piece hit his head before he lost consciousness.

It would be five more hours before Snape would find the headmaster down, and the girl that he had lent the old man, dead. Another seven before the man was coherent. All in all, Harry Potter was missing a good twelve hours before the forces of the old man even realized that the boy is missing.

**Potter Dover Mansion**

**Dover, England**

Harry found himself at the center of a large room, the furniture and furnishings of his old room around him, and the men who had introduced themselves as SAS still surrounding him. When he regained the use of his eyes, he realized that there is now an outer perimeter, but unlike the SAS perimeter, they had their attention towards them, and they are aiming their weapons towards them. At first, Harry thought that it was a trap, but then Jenkins said, "My patronus is a bear, and we came from Sherwood Forest"

The relief in the face of the men surrounding them was evident as they lowered their weapons, and then they rushed forward to see if there are any injured, "only the brutes that cannot possibly be related to Lady Lily" Jenkins said as he handed his weapon to a waiting soldier as he removed his Kevlar vest, he looked at the well-dressed man who appeared in front of him and asked, "Are you sure those whales are related to Lady Lily, Group Captain?"

Harry turned towards the man whom Jenkins had addressed as group captain, and nearly dropped his jaw as he saw his old professor, Remus Lupin, there. Harry had always remembered the Marauder, one of his father's best friends, as a shabby dresser, though it had nothing to do with the man himself. He learned that he was a shabby dresser because he cannot find a stable job due to his 'furry little problem'

Lupin decided to answer the assure Harry first that he is who he is, he smiled at him and said, "Hello Harry, I am Group Captain Remus John Lupin, my call-sign is Moony, I am a werewolf, designed the Marauder's Map together with my friends, and my patronus is a wolf"

Harry nodded, he really did not think that there would be a need for his old professor to do that since he was sure that he was the real Lupin, "Where are we sir?" he asked.

Group Captain Lupin looked at Jenkins, who shook his head before saying, "there wasn't much time, there was a bloody guard outside the house sir, and I did not think that she would have consented to us removing His Highness"

Group Captain Lupin nodded, and looked at Harry again just in time to hear the young man blurt out, "What do you mean Your Highness?" he asked.

Group Captain Lupin sighed, he motioned for Harry to follow him, and they walked out of the room. Harry found himself in a hallway that reminded him of the hallways of museums that he had gone to as a requirement when he was still studying in the muggle world. He and Lupin walked slowly, it was obvious that the Marauder was allowing Harry to take the grandeur of the hallway, which was wider than the garage at Number Four.

Occasionally, men and women would be walking past them, heading the opposite direction, and whenever this happens, they occasionally offer a salute, which Lupin returns.

They eventually found themselves inside a sitting room, though it was easily the largest sitting room that Harry had ever seen. Ornate and expensive looking chandeliers hang from the ceiling while comfortable and expensive looking sofas and dining chairs are inside the room.

Lupin motioned for Harry to take a seat, before a house-elf appeared to set a cup of hot chocolate, coffee and pumpkin juice on a table.

Lupin took the seat opposite the one that Harry is sitting on, before he sighed and said, "Harry" he began, he hesitated for a few moments, and then he added, "Dumbledore cannot be trusted"

Harry blinked, and then he nodded as he realized that there is no way Lupin is going to get him in trouble. Even though they are Marauders, they would not willingly get Harry into trouble, and the young man had to agree with the assessment of his old professor, the old man was currently occupying the top spot of the 'do not trust' list' of Harry Potter.

"He showed me a prophecy" Harry said.

Lupin nodded, "Which is a fake" he replied, he sighed and said, "Sibyll Trewlany is a fraud and a fake, she is as magically capable as Argus Filch"

"Then that prophecy…?" Harry began.

Lupin shook his head sadly, "Harry, I want you to trust me on this, please trust me on this" he said, he stood up, retrieved some sort of photo album and handed the same to Harry, who opened it to find himself staring at an eight by five inch picture of his mom and dad. From the way that they are dressed, this was their wedding picture.

Her mother was beautiful, her dress was probably specially designed, but what made her beautiful was the smile that she was wearing on her face. The picture was a non-magical portrait, so they do not move, and Harry found that strangely comforting, since if they do not move, then there is no way that their smiles would be removed from their faces.

What was really surprising was his father. He was also smiling, and it was clear that he was happy, his very body posture was screaming happiness at anyone who would have seen the picture, but what was surprising was what his father was wearing.

In the wedding picture, his father was wearing a double breasted dinner jacket with yellow stripes on the lower sleeves and a golden lanyard on his left shoulder, small colorful rectangles on his left chest, plus a badge over these rectangles that appear to be a golden star surrounded by a golden circle. His father was also wearing a medal on his neck instead of a necktie as Harry would have thought, and there was a light blue sash running from his fathers left shoulder to his right hip.

Lupin allowed Harry to take it all in, before he said, "That is the wedding picture of Prince James Charles Potter and Lady Lily Marie Evans" he said, confirming that this was indeed the wedding picture of his father and mother, and then the professor sighed and said, "From this blessed and happy union came Prince Harry James Potter"

Harry blinked, "Me?" he asked, feeling stupid that he did not understand what his professor was talking about.

Lupin nodded, he sighed and said, "The prophecy first, it was fake, orchestrated by one Albus Dumbledore so that he can gain control over your father, it was purely luck that it was overheard by a spy, though the old bastard was quick on the uptake and capitalized on tat as well"

"Why would Dumbledore want to control my father Moony?" Harry asked.

"Harry" Lupin said, "Dumbledore does not even know that your father is the Crown Prince, what he knows is that the Potter family is most powerful family in the entire magical Britain, not to mention the wealthiest"

"He wanted money?" Harry asked with surprise, he stood up and angrily confirmed, "The bastard wanted money so he had my parents killed?"

"Yes" Lupin replied sadly, "His original plan was probably to make your father indebted to him but when the spy overheard the prophecy, he decided to modify it a little." He looked at Harry and said, "I've only recently been made aware of this since apparently, our locations have been warded, only my recent trip to Britannia to see to Sirius's properties there had broken the ward and allowed your grandfather to talk to me"

"My Grandfather is still alive?" Harry asked.

Lupin shook his head, "He had a final conversation with me" he explained, "He died two days ago, and coincidentally, that was when our sensors started to pick you up"

Harry blinked, he decided that he would mourn his grandfather later, he would have to get some important questions answered first, "Moony, what do you mean sensors?" he asked.

Lupin nodded, "Well" he began, "Since we cannot locate your actual address, it was probably under some sort of fidelius charm or something, we had to resort to them" he paused and then continued, "They are keyed to you and would only, therefore, respond to your magical signature, unfortunately, the men are unable to make an exact estimate."

"There were times when there are numerous government looking guys roaming around Privet Drive" Harry said.

Lupin nodded, "It was pretty easy since we learned that Arabella Figg was brought in to keep an eye on you" he said, "but even then, we do not know where you are"

"What changed then?" Harry asked.

"Your magical burst earlier this evening" Lupin said, "Captain Jenkins and his team, the ones that went to get you, had been wearing their combat gears and had their weapons with them since two days ago when the sensors become hyper-active, they are always ready to move within a minutes notice, and your burst provided us with enough power that we were able to move the team inside the house itself" he sounded gleeful as he added, "now that you are back with us, back with Britannia, it is time that we start to hit back against those that have wronged you"

Harry blinked, he was not stupid, he realized that he was being offered the chance to hit back his enemies and he can tell a good deal when he sees one. This one is definitely a good deal. He nodded, "Where do I sign?" he asked.


	2. Chapter 2

**TWO**

**Gringotts Bank**

**Diagon Alley, London, England**

**Three Weeks Later**

Albus Dumbledore thought that he was being clever when he decided to use the fact that Harry is missing to deny him the right to attend the Will Reading of his godfather. The goblins are very serious when it comes to protocol in inheritance and they are serious when they say that if the named person is not present in the will reading, he would not get what was supposed to be his.

Since Harry Potter, whom Dumbledore suspects would be the most recipient in the will of his godfather, is not here, but his guardian, Dumbledore himself, is here, then all of those that Sirius Orion Black would leave to his godson would come under the control of Harry Potter.

Sitting inside the room that Gringotts had reserved for this specific occasion, Dumbledore cannot allow his real feelings to surface; instead, he knows that he needs to look concerned since Harry has been gone for three weeks. Numerous members of the Order have been sent to locate him, including Remus Lupin, but so far, none had been able to report where he is.

A glance towards the long wooden table in front of them one can see a goblin sitting, contemplating and occasionally glancing at the wall clock, with a yellow binder in front of him that bears the seal of the Black Family. On either side of the long wooden table was a marble sculpture of a hooded Death Eater, which made Dumbledore wonder what the goblins are playing at.

It would appear that the goblin is also concerned that Harry Potter would be a no-show.

Inwardly, the Old Man was bouncing at this. Though technically, he is only a steward of the things that he would receive in the name of Harry, the boy would never know his inheritance and because of that, then Albus would get to keep everything.

Looking around the room, he decided that it would really be not that bad to make it appear as if Harry is not named in the will. The only persons in the room who could possibly speak to Harry in regards to this are Lupin and Hermione Granger. Albus was already planning ahead, since the girl is a student in his school, he can easily obliviate her as soon as possible. Lupin can be sent on a secret mission that would see him killed.

It would such a shame to kill Lupin, who was wearing his possibly best clothes for this will reading. It was a blue single breasted knee length greatcoat with shoulder boards, a golden lanyard on his right shoulder, small colorful rectangular pins on his left chest, a badge pinned above these rectangular pins and three light blue stripes on his lower sleeves. Matching trousers, black leather shoes and a peaked cap completed the set that Hermione had said is akin to the uniform of a Royal Air Force Group Captain.

Thinking that Lupin is wearing it for a prank later, however, Albus Dumbledore decided not to ask any questions, and besides, he does not even know what a 'Royal Air Force' is, let alone a 'Group Captain'.

The other people in the room are of no big consequence, though the Weasley twins might be. Albus, however, is prepared to let their mother deal with them, and since Molly Weasley is aware that she would receive more from Albus than she would from Harry, she is more than prepared to make a deal with Albus.

Arthur Weasley was also no problem since Molly can easily control her husband. Ronald and Ginevra, the two youngest, are in on the plan, while Percival, who has strained relations with the rest of his family, would not be in this will reading.

Seated as far away from Dumbledore as possible were Draco Malfoy and Narcissa Malfoy. The young man seem to think that he would be the next Lord Black, and if there was no will, he probably would be the next Lord Black. The fact that Sirius left a will means that he would never be Lord Black, but it seems that the vain and arrogant boy has not even thought that there would be a chance that he would be passed over. Albus is sure that hell would freeze over first before Sirius would leave a pureblood supremacist take over the Black family.

The goblin sighed as the hands of the clock hit noon. Dumbledore had been informed that Sirius Black himself had requested that the Will Reading take place three weeks after End of Term and at noon. Why this specific time was requested is not known, but Dumbledore suspected that it is so that the beneficiaries coming from Hogwarts would be there.

It would appear that Harry Potter is not going to be here, however.

The Goblin stood up and instantly, all attention in the room was diverted towards him. With a wheezy voice, the goblin began, "before we read the last will and testament of Lord Sirius Orion Black, head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black, custom dictates that we ascertain if all the named parties are present, therefore, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore?" a corresponding present was heard from the old man, "Hermione Jean Granger?" another corresponding present before another name was called and this continued until the goblin asked, "Harry James Patter?"

It seems that the goblin was aware that there would not be an answer in this one because he did not wait long before he opened his binder and removed the first page that was inside it.

"This is the Last Will and Testament of Lord Sirius Orion Black" the goblin said, "Gringotts has determined that it would survive any challenge from anyone, but custom dictates that we ask the people gathered here today if they would wish to challenge the will before we read it?"

Since everyone in the room was unsure of what to challenge, they all shook his head. Having already read the will himself, the old goblin hid a smile under his bow towards them. He resumed his seat, because he knows that he would need to, before he started:

_The Last Will and Testament of _

_Lord Sirius Orion Black_

_Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black_

_ I, Lord Sirius Orion Black, of sound mind and body, having been sworn to in accordance with the law do hereby depose that:_

_ I am the Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black after the death of my brother, Regelus Arcturus Black, at the hands of Voldemort_

_ I am dead, which is why you are having the will reading. In the case that I am not yet dead, however, please stop reading now as that would be terribly embarrassing and could die with embarrassment after learning that this was read while I am still alive_

_ Therefore, in accordance with my responsibilities as Head of House, I hereby appoint my ward and godchild, Harry James Potter, as my successor in name, title and magic, and the new Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black_

_ General bequests_

_ As Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black, I hereby order the annulment of all marital unions from my house to anyone with the Dark Mark eaters unless said death eaters can prove to the new head that they took their mark unwillingly. Until such time that they can prove it, their marriages are annulled and any bride price shall be revoked and returned to my vault. _

_ As Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black, I hereby expel from the family all with the Dark Mark, unless they can prove to the new head that they took their mark unwillingly. All inheritances that they would receive or have already received shall be revoked and returned to my vaults _

_ Specific bequests_

_ To Remus John Lupin, I leave behind five million galleons with the hope that he would use them to buy himself new clothes _

_ To Arthur Weasley, I leave one hundred thousand galleons for being a good friend and for being a laugh_

_ To Fred and George Weasley, I leave one hundred thousand galleons each with the hope that they would use the gold to fund their joke shop, and in addition, I leave behind a very personal notebook of the original marauders for their use. Boys, I trust that you would know what to do next_

_ To Ronald Weasley, I believe that I've already given you a gift when I gave you that owl that you stupidly named after yourself, you won't get anything else. In any case, the fifty thousand galleons that your mother had removed from Harry's vaults should be enough for you, too bad you cannot convince your mom to buy you a Firebolt huh? A little bit of advice, the napkin is placed on the table for a reason and the human mouth is small for a reason. _

_ To Ginevra Weasley, I leave one hundred million warnings, all of them with the same heading, do not mess with my godson and keep your potions to yourself_

_ To Molly Weasley, I leave behind one hundred billion warnings, all of them with the same warning, your greed would destroy one of the greatest families that I had ever known, but I do not think that it would be possible for you to change, so I leave this warning_

_ To Narcissa Malfoy, since your marriage is already annulled, I hope that my parting gift of five hundred thousand galleons would be enough. You are also hereby expelled from the family for marrying that piece of shit Lucius Malfoy_

_ To Draco Malfoy, you are not part of the Black Family. Since your father is a marked Death Eater, his marriage to your mother is no longer legally binding, therefore, aside from not being a Black, you are also not a Malfoy. I really would like to be there when you hear this news, nothing pleases me more than to see bigoted scum like you fall from your imaginary stage. I daresay that you would also find a hard time in looking for a job boy_

_ To Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, I leave behind another notebook containing all the curse words that I have learned from all languages that I have learned. When he reads them, I hope that he would finally realize that all of those words combined would not do him justice. _

_ To Hermione Jean Granger, I am not sure where you stand, one moment, you are with Harry, the other, you are with the two-legged pig. I, however, still remember the time when you and Harry rescued me and for that, I am eternally grateful, I leave behind the entirety of the Black library to your very capable hands. I sincerely hope that you stand with my godson, Hermione, you are a beautiful girl who would do him good, I have seen your effect on him, and I know that he considers you as his moral anchor to the real world._

_ To Harry James Potter, I leave behind, in addition to my name, title and magic, I leave behind everything not mentioned above. The entirety of my wealth, six hundred billion galleons in money, property, stocks and accounts receivable, are all yours. I would have wanted to be there when you receive them, but then again, if I am there, then this will is useless. My final wish for you, Harry, is to live your life to the fullest. Having Dark Lords, stupid headmasters and traitorous friends should not be a hindrance to finding a good nice witch to give your heart to and marry, and I want to believe that you have already found her and had already shared one hell of a Hippogriff ride with her and me. _

_ One final word, Harry, by the time that you read this, I am sure that you are already aware of Britannia, if not, then contact Remus Lupin about it, he would know what to tell you_

The goblin sighed once as he replaced the will back on the binder, and then sat back as he watched the reaction of the people in front of him. He can only see three happy faces, the rest were confused or outright angry, and the old goblin can see that the angriest award goes to the blond that goes by the name of Draco Malfoy, though his closest competitor, the young red haired Weasley boy that must be Ronald, is not that far behind him.

The two men were shouting at one another, hurling choice words that would have seen both of them dragged to the lowest pits of the bank to shovel dragon dung. Between the throwing of these choice words, the two men were claiming at the top of their lungs that the will is fake in such a way that the old goblin would really love to have a sword to cut their heads off as they imply that goblins are stupid.

Remus Lupin, the Weasley twins, and Arthur Weasley are the only ones who are happy, though the first obviously already knows what he would receive, the twins, they appear to be ecstatic but surprised at the same time, and Arthur was smiling, but very confused as he looked at his seething wife.

Ginevra Weasley was angry, but she does not know why she should be angry, she just knows that she should be angry, and it was a good thing that Gringotts require all wants to be left behind the counters, otherwise, another war between the goblins and wizards would have started because of this girl.

Hermione Granger was confused, she had no idea what Sirius was talking about when she heard her name, but then became more confused as it became obvious that Sirius was referring to her when he talked about Harry.

Albus Dumbledore was the most surprise in the mind of the goblin. He appeared to be calm, though the goblin knew that the man is seething inside. The goblin was aware that his brethren had already filed several cases against the Chief Warlock, but the old man would only be made aware of this later after the will reading.

"Enough!" Dumbledore shouted, and inwardly, the goblin smirked as the supposedly patient 'Leader of the Light' lost his patience, he looked at the goblin who struggled to keep his face impassive as he felt his mental shields being tested, "I am sure that that was all a joke, Sirius tends to take his jokes a bit too seriously, now" the headmaster motioned to the binder, "if we could please have the real will?"

The goblin looked at the headmaster, and at the same time, he looked at the assembled people. The goblin cannot believe that these people actually think that Sirius Black would prank them even up to here, that would be taking pranking to new heights, and should earn the dead man a place in the prank hall of fame.

"I can assure you that that is the real will" a voice from behind Dumbledore said.

All pair of eyes turned towards the source of the voice, and not a few jaws dropped as they nearly failed to recognize the man who had entered. He was wearing a black double-breasted, knee length greatcoat with shoulder boards, a gold lanyard on his right shoulder, a different combination of colorful rectangle pins on his left chest and a badge above these rectangles that show a golden star surrounded by a golden circle. He was wearing matching black trousers, black leather shoes and a peaked cap that was pinned under his right shoulder by his right arm. Unlike Lupin, he was wearing six yellow stripes on the lower sleeves of his jacket, and three blue diamonds was placed on the sixth yellow line.

The only reason that he was recognized was because of his voice, because even his trademark scar was gone.

"Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Hello everyone" Harry said. He did not say anything, and neither did anyone else, because at that moment, other men entered the room, all of them dressed in the same fashion as Lupin, only, their coats are gray, and they are all carrying, Hermione's eyes widened when he recognized them, muggle submachine guns strapped over their shoulders. Harry took that chance to take the seat next to Remus Lupin, and two of the new arrivals positioned themselves beside the two men, their eyes darting to and fro as they searched the room for possible hostiles.

Finally, Draco Malfoy shouted, "you cannot get anything Potter, you were not here when the will was read!"

Harry just smiled at the arrogant man. Lupin had advised him to let the goblins handle this matter, so that was what Harry did, even if deep inside, he would want nothing more than to make Malfoy eat some 5.7 mm. slugs from his sidearm.

"I am afraid that young master Malfoy is incorrect in that assumption" the goblin said, trying his best to keep himself from laughing at the stupidity of the boy, "Young Lord Potter-Black had already checked in with me even before any of you have arrived and so, according to the rules, he is already here, therefore he is entitled to receive"

Malfoy lost his temper and was about to attack Harry physically when he suddenly found himself staring at the barrel of Harry's sidearm, a 5.7x28 mm. FN Five-seveN pistol. Being a pureblood, Malfoy does not know what he is looking at, though he probably realized that the thing that Harry is holding is dangerous since he stopped.

"Going to hit me with that Potter?" the blond man taunted.

Harry sighed, he looked at the goblin and asked, "is a demonstration of our capabilities allowed?"

The goblin nodded, "As you had requested earlier my lord" the goblin replied, "these two statues are here as targets"

Harry nodded, from his peripheral vision, he can see that Dumbledore is getting excited, _probably because he thinks that I am going to show him my magical power_, Harry thought.

The young prince that no one knows about stood from his seat and walked away from one of the statues. He was a good thirty feet away from the statue, already far away for even the killing curse to be effective, when he stopped, turned around and aimed his sidearm at the statue, "This is a semi-automatic firearm, you oafs" Harry said, but before anyone can protest his use of language, he started blasting away at the statue.

It did not take long before twenty 5.7 mm. armor piercing bullet had rendered the death eater statue into a piece of trash. Harry quickly reloaded his weapon before turning towards the stunned group, well, mostly stunned group. He saw that his men, Lupin and Hermione are unaffected by the demonstration, but that was probably because they already know what a gun is. Draco Malfoy, on the other hand, looked ready to wet himself as he realized the damage that the weapon that Harry is holding is capable of and probably imagining what he would look like if Harry decides to use the weapon on him.

Dumbledore looked ready to say something, but Harry cut him off, "Now, let me show you what an automatic weapon is capable of" he said with a smile as one of his men handed Harry his submachine gun.

The young man checked the weapon first, then pulled the charging handle of the 5.7x28 mm. FN P-90 submachine gun, and started to blast away at the second death eater statue. As the magazine of the P-90 is considerably bigger, it took longer for this demonstration, but once the demonstration was done, Harry handed the weapon back to the man who lent it to him, who promptly reloaded his weapon.

"This is the weapons that we now use" Harry said with a smile toward Draco Malfoy, who had gone white as he watched the demonstration, "And we are not afraid to use them"

Draco Malfoy and all of the purebloods in the room thought that the sidearm that Harry used was bad enough, but after watching him blast the second statue to smithereens with the submachine gun, most of them are already asking themselves if they are dreaming

"Now, anyone else would like to dispute that the will of my godfather is a fake?" Harry asked.

As he had expected, there was no answer.

"Good" Harry said, his grin had a predatory gleam as he said, "Then this should be easy to do"

"Harry" Molly Weasley suddenly said, "Why is Sirius doing this to us? What did we do wrong?"

Harry looked compassionately at Mrs. Weasley, he really liked the woman, and that is why her betrayal had hit hard. He knew that the red haired was probably already thinking that she can worm her way into his vault when he looked compassionately at her, but the truth is, Harry was just looking compassionately at her so that when his betrayal of her hits, it would be harder.

Molly Weasley was actually mentally congratulating herself as Harry looked at her, she was already calculating how much she is going to take from the Potter vaults as compensation when Harry suddenly said, "Sirius said it didn't he?" he asked, "you stole from me, therefore, you are unworthy of being a beneficiary in his will"

"Harry" Dumbledore began.

"Don't start on me old man" Harry said, he did not even look at Dumbledore, he was thoroughly enjoying the look of fear in the face of Molly Weasley and, by extension, her youngest son and only daughter, before he looked at Dumbledore, "You, lemon-drop monkey, have stolen close to five million galleons from me and my parents"

Hermione blinked at that revelation, at first, she thought that Harry was being unreasonable, but then she heard him accuse the headmaster with theft. Suddenly, all the strange things that had been happening since she had met Harry made sense, and why Sirius had referred to her. Making up her mind as to her next course of action, she also realized why the goblins had allowed her to keep her wand on her person, though they did say that she better not tell anyone about it.

Before anyone can react to anything, Hermione Granger drew her wand. In her peripheral vision, she saw the guards that Harry had brought clench their weapons, but they did not point it at her, and she did not give them a reason to do so by pointing her wand to the roof and saying, at the top of her voice, "I, Hermione Jean Granger, do hereby swear on my magic and on my life that I am Lord Harry James Potter's till the day that I die"

A golden glow seems to surround Hermione for a few moments, and as abruptly as it appeared, it disappeared.

Hermione stood for a few moments, her face about to split into a smile as she saw Harry, and then her legs gave way below her and she fell. Luckily, Harry was fast enough to catch her before she lay crumpled on the floor.

"Hermione" Harry said, "Have you any idea what you just did?"

Hermione smiled at him, "Of course I do, my lord" she replied, she yawned and then said, "If you would excuse me, my lord, I think I would be taking a nap"

Molly Weasley was also aware of what Hermione had just done, actually, everyone in the room was aware of what Hermione just did, but she was the one who was the most verbal about it, "You mudblood bitch!" she shrieked at the top of her lungs, "You are supposed to go to Ron, how dare you steal Harry from…" she paused as Harry signaled to his men. Without any hesitation, they pulled the charging handles of their P-90 submachine guns, though that is more to steal attention, and then pointed them all at Molly Weasley.

Harry smiled as he discovered the quickest way to shut the woman up, he stood up, carrying the sleeping Hermione like a bride, and walked out of the room without saying anything. Remus Lupin followed him, but after Lupin had gone out of the room, Harry's guards closed the doors and then pointed their weapons at the assembled group, it was clear that no one is going to exit the room without permission from Harry.


	3. Chapter 3

**THREE**

**Gringotts Bank**

**Diagon Alley, London, England**

It took three hours before Hermione regained consciousness, and she was surprised when the moment that she opened her eyes, the first person that she saw was Harry, who was looking over at her with a bemused expression on his face.

"You gave me quite a scare there" he commented.

Hermione smiled, "I did not know that it would take this long" she replied, she glanced at a wall clock that was hanging on the wall, took note of the time, and then turned to Harry and asked, "More than three hours, my lord?"

Harry nodded. He opened his mouth to say something, more specifically, he wanted to ask Hermione to stop calling him 'my lord', but realized that that be impossible to do, since she specifically bound herself to him. According to the books that Harry has read, Hermione would be able to control herself after a few days, a week at the most, and stop referring to him as 'my lord'. Until that time that she does, however, Harry had to resign himself to hearing her call him that.

That, however, does not mean that she cannot tease him, "Yes, my lady" he replied, and then he smiled at her before she can complain at him, "The book says that you would be able to control yourself after sometime Hermione, so I would not ask you to try right now, but when you are able, I would like to ask you to stop calling me 'My Lord', or I would start to refer to you by that term as well" he smiled, faked a pose that he was being thoughtful, before adding, "on second thought, maybe it would be for the best if I refer to you like that at all times"

Hermione smiled, "if you do that, then I would be forced to call you 'my lord', at all times" she replied, she moved her hand so that she was holding hands with Harry. Since he was seated beside the surface where she was lying down, it did not take a lot of movement to be able to hold his hand, "I take it, my lord, that the will reading is over?"

Harry nodded, "I told the old man that he has a month to pay me back all the things that he stole from me" he said, "As for the Weasley's, I gave them a choice, in thirty days, they pay me everything that they stole, or I take Ginny from them"

Hermione nodded, surprising Harry since he originally thought that Hermione would object at taking Ginny, not because she was their friend, but because he always thought that Hermione would not be willing to share her wizard.

Given that she had sworn to be his, on pain of her magic and her life, it was clear that she was serious when she gave herself to him. The moment that she did that, a bond began to form between the two of them, which the book that Harry read had referred to as the slave bond. According to the book, once the bond was complete, Harry would be able to do anything that he wants to do to Hermione, and she would not be able to complain, she would only be willing to do whatever it is that he requires of her.

"Do you have any idea what you just did?" Harry asked, "or rather, what you did?"

Hermione nodded, "I know what I did, my lord" she replied, she lost the smile on her face as she thought that her lord was unhappy with what she did, "it was the only thing that I can think of to make you trust me"

Harry paused; she looked at Hermione and found the steel heart that he had equipped himself with melt at the sight of this beautiful girl lying in a make-shift hospital bed with tears in her eyes. Before long, the steel heart that had taken three weeks to complete had melted and Harry found himself embracing his best friend.

"Hermione" Harry said as he embraced her, "I am sorry, I did not know what else to do" he explained, "I thought that you would stop being with me if you learned about it, so I told myself that it would be alright even if the two of us just remain as friends, at least, I can be with you"

Hermione can feel the moisture coming from the eyes of the man that she just swore herself to, and without warning, the dam of her own tear reservoir gave way as she found herself crying as well. She embraced him tightly, but unlike Harry, who was crying and asking for her forgiveness for something thoughtless that he did, she was crying because she was so happy that he reciprocates her feelings for him.

It was her worst fear, that the friend that she loves would not love her, and because of that, she had kept her feelings mostly to herself. To find out that he reciprocates those feelings is probably the most important thing that Hermione Jean Granger would ever learn.

"It's alright Harry" Hermione said, it was hardly a credible claim since she was also crying. No person would believe a person who is saying that it is alright when they can see her crying, after all, "We are together now, nothing would separate us again"

Harry nodded, he pulled away from her, just enough to allow him to, slowly, kiss her. His reason for wanting it to be slow is because he wanted to give her enough time to say if she does not want it. Since she did not protest as he made a move to kiss her, he figured that she would have wanted it.

For Hermione, it was more than want, it was a need. She needed him to kiss her, and that was it. At the moment that their lips touched, her senses were overwhelmed, it was the single sweetest thought that she could remember, and, even if this is her first kiss, she instantly knew that she would never need any other boy to kiss her, for she instinctively knew that the young man who is kissing her is the best kisser in the world.

A small part of her brain is wondering if this is the bond at work, but at the same time that that small part is wondering, the larger part of her brain is telling it that Hermione does not care. This could be the work of an Imperius curse for all that it matters, the only thing that matters is that she does not want it to end.

It was not the kiss itself that made it enjoyable for both of them, though neither of them would deny that it was one of the factors that made it enjoyable, it was the sudden realization that they can see what the other is seeing, they can feel what the other is feeling, and they can hear what the other is thinking. Through this method, the two of them suddenly realized that they are living the others life.

Remus Lupin, whom the couple had so conveniently ignored at the side, smiled at the statement that came from the most brilliant student that he had ever taught. _Hermione is right_, he thought to himself, _nothing would ever separate the two of them now_.

The old professor was concerned that this show of emotion that the two of them have for each other is the result of the bond that Hermione had started, but having seen some bonded couples in the past during his times wandering, Remus Lupin is sure that this show of emotion coming from the two of them goes way beyond the bond.

As he looked at the two of them whispering sweet nothings, though somehow, Group Captain Lupin does not think that this would qualify as sweet nothings, with each otherGroup Captain Lupin wondered, if it would be proper to disturb them. Indeed, as he looked at the young couple, he got the distinct impression that right now, the world may very well burn, they would not care as long as they have one another.

Reluctantly, Group Captain Lupin cleared his throat loudly, but it would seem that not even throwing a bucket full of ice cold water would make those two break their kiss.

He allowed the two to continue to kiss for a few more minutes, and then he walked towards them and decided to just physically remind them that he is in the room with them.

As he moved to touch Harry and remind his young king of his duties, he suddenly found himself standing where he was ten minutes ago. The professor blinked, unsure of what just happened, and then he tried again to touch Harry only to find himself standing at the starting point yet again. He blinked and then asked himself, _'What the hell is happening?' _

At that moment, the door opened and two of Harry's guards entered the room, escorting two goblins, both of whom where superbly dressed. Group Captain Lupin recognized one of them, and he dropped to one knee as this goblin moved towards him.

"Director Ragnok" Group Captain Lupin said.

Director Ragnok is the head of the London branch of the Gringotts bank, and also the head of the goblin nation in the United Kingdom. A shrewd dealer and one of the wisest alive when it comes to gold, his leadership was credited with the financial successes of the goblins in the world of business, and yet, he has never allowed this to get into his head and always deal with honor with those who would deal with honor with him.

Group Captain Lupin is one of those that the leader of the goblin nation would gladly place in that sadly short list, as is the young man who is the purpose of his sudden visit into this room.

"Group Captain Lupin" Ragnok said, he bowed to him, and then turned his attention towards Harry and Hermione, who are now surrounded by some sort of golden light that Group Captain Lupin must have missed.

For some reason, seeing the golden light surrounding the couple has excited Ragnok, who would probably be jumping up and down if not for the fact that he is the leader of the goblin nation, "This is the first time that I am seeing something like this" the director explained to Group Captain Lupin, "so forgive me if I seem too excited"

Group Captain Lupin shook his head, "I wish I could be as sure as you" he commented.

Director Ragnok turned towards the Group Captain, "Surely, you've witnessed a soul bonding before?" he asked, and when Group Captain Lupin shook his head, the director pointed to his young king, "Prince Harry is bonding with her"

"but she only initiated the bond this afternoon" Group Captain Lupin complained, and then he looked at them, "they are fully clothed, and trust me, director, removing the M46 jacket that Prince Harry is wearing is no marathon"

Director Ragnok chuckled, "You wizards" he said with mirth in his voice, "I am aware that Lady Hermione had initiated a slave bond with Prince Harry, but do you really think that they, the young prince and his lady, would allow their relationship to be that of a slave and master?" it was a rhetorical question that everyone inside the room knew the answer to that, and Director Ragnok continued, "The Prince and Lady Hermione are completing a soul bond"

"A what?" Group Captain Lupin asked in surprise, his jaw dropping, he knew what a soul bond was, but the implication that these two are forming that, he mentally hit himself in the head for failing to see such a bond from occurring between the two of them. Group Captain Lupin shook his head as he mentally told himself that he should have seen it coming since these two had been close since they first became friends.

Turning towards Major Jennings, who was one of the two men that had accompanied Director Ragnok, he said, "Alert Dover that we may need a helicopter for evacuation"

Major Jennings shook his head, "Sir," he said, "we _may_ not need a helicopter for evacuation, we need a helicopter for evacuation"

Group Captain Lupin looked at the SAS commander and silently asked for clarification, "The old man and his ministry is camped outside this building, they have a huge auror presence there as well, and they mean to arrest Prince Harry" he sighed once and then said, "the bastard must have run to their Wizengamot right after we let him out"

"Director?" Group Captain Lupin asked, turning to Director Ragnok.

Director Ragnok nodded, "We have accepted the offer of Major Jenkins to help defend the bank" he said, "the wizards would not attempt to enter the bank, they love their gold too much, but one cannot be sure, so I have accepted the offer"

Glancing towards his prince and his apparent lady, Group Captain Lupin turned towards Major Jenkins and asked, "What sort of resistance are we prepared to offer?"

Major Alvin Jenkins is thirty two years old, more than half of that, he spent in the Imperial Armed Forces, and more than ten years in the Special Air Service. He is not magical so he might not know what the hell a 'bond' is, but he knows his craft well, which is why he is the longest tenured commander in the SAS and he was once the youngest commander in the SAS. When it comes to fighting a war, whether offensive or defensive, he knows his way.

"Not much with only two platoons to depend on sir" Major Jenkins replied, he angrily shook his head and added, "We have three more platoons in ready mode back at Dover sir, and we can use them to augment our forces, but they would have to floo in and cross possibly hostile territory, so I would not recommend that, but sir, I would also tell you that there is only so much that we can do with only forty two men"

Group Captain Lupin nodded, "His Highness is the one who must make the decision when it comes to the reinforcements" he said, "What else?"

"I've received confirmation from the Royal Air Force to fly in our AH-1 gunship helicopters in case we need them, and I've requested emergency clearance for two Chinook helicopters just in case we need them"

Group Captain Lupin nodded, and then he asked, "And what about our forces here?"

"I've ordered two squads into defending the main entrance sir" Major Jenkins replied, "fourteen P-90's and two M240's would not do much good in my opinion, I have a squad up on the roof with AWP rifles, another squad defending our backside with one general purpose machinegun, and the two squads in reserve"

Group Captain Lupin nodded, "the average British magical is stupid when it comes to fighting like this Alvin" he assured the major, "they would close to twenty feet before firing their spells, your boys can engage them at more than twenty times that range, we should use that to our advantage"

Major Jenkins nodded, "Yes sir" he replied, and then he was handed a radio by the other man who entered with him, "sir" he said to Group Captain Lupin, "We have radio contact with our gunship helicopters and the Chinooks have taken off from Dover, they should be here under the hour sir"

"See to the defenses major" Group Captain Lupin said, he returned the salute of the commander of their security detail, before he turned his attention back to the prince. As he had expected, he was still locked with the apparent Lady Hermione and, if anything, the golden glow that was surrounding them seems to be getting stronger.

"How long does this usually last Director?" Group Captain Lupin asked, he was already shielding his eyes from the glow.

"It depends on the couple" Director Ragnok replied, the goblin ruler was not only covering his eyes with his hands, his eyes are already closed, "though if I were to check the records, I do not think that we have seen a glow as bright as this before, never mind stronger" and right after he said that, the golden light rapidly expanded, and then suddenly, it was gone. Group Captain Lupin was about to say something when he suddenly found himself kissing the ground as a massive shockwave scythed through the room, and then went on outside, knocking any magical creature that it came across.

**Department of Magical Regulation**

**Ministry of Magic, London, England**

At the ministry, devices that are used to monitor illegal magic suddenly decided to all go off at once. The person in charge of monitoring them was a lucky bastard, as he had never seen this happen before, so he decided to leave the room and call for his supervisor. At the same time that he closed the door to run for his supervisor, every device shattered into a thousand pieces, sending lethal projectiles everywhere.

If the man who was supposed to be monitoring them had waited for his supervisor instead, he would be dead.

**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

**Scotland**

If Albus Dumbledore had been in his office that morning, he would be howling mad.

He had just managed to restore his room to some semblance of order after the still unexplained explosions of the devices that are tied to Harry, when the magical shockwave had hit the school.

Once more, the same devices shattered into a thousand pieces, again wrecking Dumbledore's office

**All around England**

The magical shockwave soon covered all of England. As it did, it passed several items of interests, which includes a cup, a locket, and a ring.

As the magical shockwave passed through them, they suddenly emitted painful screaming, followed by some sort of black spirit being expelled from the things and then deafening silence.

**Malfoy Manor**

**London, England**

The magical shockwave passed through the beautiful and obviously expensive manor much like how it has passed through the other manors in the area.

Lord Voldemort was in a meeting with his inner circle, including the fools who have managed to get themselves to Azkaban. Only the gold of the Malfoy family and his years of cultivating Fudge had allowed them to escape conviction and return here.

The moment that the shockwave hit the place, every witch and wizard in the area suddenly found themselves kissing the ground, and in the case of one death eater who was unluckily conducting business in the comfort room, he suddenly found himself kissing his bodily wastes right after he had deposited it.

The ones most affected were Voldemort himself and his snake.

In the case of the self-styled Dark Lord, he was walking along the stairs, he likes to walk every time he is making a speech, when the shockwave hit. The magical shockwave knocked him out, and unfortunately for him, his foot slipped and he found himself not only kissing the ground, he found himself kissing the ground with two broken limbs, an arm that is set in an unnatural angle and a bleeding wound on his head. Since all of his followers are down with him, and would not recover for another hour, no one can help him until then.

As for the snake, it reacted much like the three other items, but in the case of the snake, there was no deafening silence after the black spirit was exorcised. It was a good thing that the death eaters and Voldemort are down, if not, then they would be getting front row seats as they watch the snake explode. As it stands, they would just wake up with unknown sticky substances in their hair, which made more than one death eater suspect that Snape is now in the pranking business and wants to form a club composed of greasy haired death eaters.

**Gringotts Bank**

**Diagon Alley, London, England**

Harry and Hermione opened their eyes, to the two of them, they had kissed for just a few seconds, but right now, the ones who are supposed to tell that to them are currently lying on the ground.

Group Captain Lupin was the first to recover, he helped himself up to his feet at the same time that Harry helped Hermione. The firs thing that the Group Captain noticed was the smile on the face of the prince that he now serves, it was not the faint, almost forced, smile that Group Captain Lupin is used to seeing at Harry's face, rather, it was a smile that Group Captain Lupin is sure would have brightened up the face of his parents. It was a smile that was reflected on the face of Hermione and yet, everyone in the room instinctively knew that the smile on both of their faces are not two, rather, it is a single smile, much like how they instinctively knew that as of this moment, the two people in front of them is one.

The second thing that Group Captain Lupin noticed was how close Harry and Hermione are. He knew that they were close even before, but before this bonding, that closeness was exhibited more by how they act with one another, after the bonding that closeness was just that, close. Hermione had his arm around Harry's arm and neither of them was complaining when Group Captain Lupin was sure that they would find this uncomfortable.

Harry frowned, he instinctively realized that the two of them were out by more than just the few minutes that they have thought, he realized that when he looked at Group Captain Lupin and when he looked at Director Ragnok, who was not in the room when the kiss began. Harry knew that if the kiss really was just a few seconds, then he would have heard the goblin director entering the room.

"How long?" Harry asked.

"We do not know" Group Captain Lupin replied, "probably close to thirty to forty minutes, we were knocked out during the middle or end of it, I think"

Harry looked at Hermione, who shook her head, indicating that she does not know how to answer his question. Harry sighed and said, "The book did not say anything about that"

"If I may, Your Highness?" Director Ragnok asked, Harry and Hermione turned their attention to the goblin leader, greeted him first before they listened to him as he explained, "What Prince Harry and Lady Hermione went through is not the completion of a slave bond, rather, it was the completion of a soul bond"

"Never heard of those before director" Harry said, he looked at Hermione, sure that she would have heard of those before, so he was surprised when she shook her head, indicating that she had never heard of it before, and then she looked at him apologetically. Harry smiled at her and shook his head, he understands that not even her can read every book and learn everything in existence, and he is sure that she is still reeling back after being informed through this bond or whatever it is, of the manipulations of the people closest to Harry. She was seething and wanted revenge as well, he can somehow feel it, and he knew that if he asked Group Captain Lupin about it, all he would say is that it is because of their bond.

Director Ragnok nodded, "Unsurprising, my lord" he assured them, "not many have heard of it before" but before he can explain further, the door violently opened as Major Jenkins and his radio man entered the room.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, Your Highness, My Lady, Director, Sir" he said, somehow, he was able to give his apologies to the correct person in the right order, but he did not wait for them to return his greetings as he reported, "The aurors are moving, they are preparing to attack"

Harry looked at Group Captain Lupin who replied, "There is a very strong auror presence outside the bank, and they are…?" he looked at Major Jenkins.

The SAS commander remembered that he was not able to report the reason that they are about to be attacked a while ago, so he reported it now, "Cornelius Fudge is demanding that we turn His Highness over to him, he wants His Highness charged with libel and several other crimes, not the least of which was attacking the inner circle"

"What?" Lady Hermione asked, her fury was evident in her voice and everyone in the room, with the exception of Harry, suddenly cringed in terror.

Noticing the look on the face of the goblins and his servants, Prince Harry smiled, and there was a predatory gleam in that smile, he placed his other hand, since his other arm is being held by Hermione, and this calmed Hermione down, "Shall we go talk some sense into them, love?" Harry asked her.

Everyone in the room can see the fury in the eyes of Lady Hermione, but then she nodded, "Fine, I guess that we should try to resolve this diplomatically first" she conceded, and then she smiled, and for those that can see it, there was the same predatory glean in her eyes, the same one in the eyes of Harry, when she did.


	4. Chapter 4

**FOUR**

**Gringotts Bank**

**Diagon Alley, London, England**

Anyone who was taking a walk that morning in Diagon Alley would have been surprised when they came to the bank. For some reason, there are at least a dozen aurors waiting outside the bank, and the Minister of Magic himself, along with most of his senior staff, are waiting with them.

The auror force had completely blocked the bank, preventing anyone from entering to do some business. It is not therefore farfetched to see that it is thanks to this auror force that business in Diagon Alley that day was at an all time low. Without gold or any other form of currency, exchange is impossible, so most of the shops in the alley were forced to close early and head over to the bank.

At first, these people just want to complain to the goblins, but when they saw the blocking force in place, they began asking themselves what the hell is happening, and like most curious people, they became part of the audience. It did not take long before ninety percent of the people in the alley were watching the spectacle. It ensured that what would happen next would always be remembered by the people.

Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge was an impossibly prideful man. He is also narcissistic and self-serving, and two of his good traits include the fact that he thinks that he would never be wrong, and the fact that he contradicts himself every now and then.

This day, he was standing at the foot of the marble stairs that lead from Diagon Alley to the bank proper. Wearing a bowler hat to protect his balding hair from the sun and an impeccably arranged robe that signified his position as head of the Wizengamot, he would look like a dandy if he is outside the alley, but since everyone in the alley knows what the robe that he is wearing signifies, no one is laughing at him.

Standing beside Fudge was the man whom he had practically been fighting a war against for the past year.

Albus Dumbledore was wearing a purple colored robe and looked every bit like Merlin. The old man was scratching his chin, wondering what had happened in the Will Reading. The old man has already planned a tour of the Black family vaults right after the reading, for he was sure that Sirius would have left the entirety of his fortune to his godson, and as the legal guardian of Harry Potter, he would be the only one allowed to manage the vault.

He cannot believe what had happened, and had to run to the Wizengamot to help him. It irked the pride of the old man that he had to ask for weaker men for help, but he recognized that he would not be able to win against Harry without their help. Although he might be more powerful than the lad, the guards that he had brought with him carry weapons that would negate his power and at the same time, turn him to ground meat for meatballs.

The old man also tries not to glance to his right, where another man of interested was standing.

That is because the last time that the old man had seen this man, this man was wearing full death eater regalia. Today, however, Lucius Malfoy, the rumored right hand of Lord Voldemort, was wearing impeccable robes that reflect his financial position. The gold hue of the said robes was enough to divert attention from his gaunt face, a result of a three day incarceration at Azkaban, before his gold and influence with Fudge worked their own magic and had him released.

If things were different, Albus Dumbledore would be flooring Lucius right about now, but he realized that he can use the hatred of the older Malfoy against Harry, and because he can see the younger Malfoy talking with his father, the old man inwardly smiled as he listened to the younger man incense his father.

Standing to the left of Fudge was his hand-picked successor, Dolores Umbridge. The toad-like witch had recently recovered from being attacked by a horde of centaurs and she blames, rightly or wrongly, Harry and his girlfriend. She is here because she wants to take part in capturing the boy and would probably take any chance that she can to avenge herself.

Already tired of waiting and would want nothing more but to get this over and done with, Fudge signaled his aurors to advance. Dumbledore moved to remind Fudge that they cannot attack the bank without risking a war with the goblins, but before Fudge can even signal his men, the massive double doors of the bank was thrown open.

Walking with the confidence of a man who knows that the attention of the world is with him right now, Harry Potter walked out of the bank with his greatcoat billowing in such a way that would have made Snape envious.

On his right side, holding his arm as they walked, stood Hermione Granger. The confidence of the man standing beside her was oozing off him and she benefited from this, allowing her to walk with her boyfriend with the same confidence that he exhibited.

Behind them was Group Captain Lupin. He might not be walking as confident as Harry and Hermione, but those who knew him can tell that he has changed. Although the older man had never been accused of lacking confidence, he has never been accused of oozing with it as well. That is probably because of his choice of clothes, which are always shabby, but today, as he walked out of the bank with Harry and Hermione, he was also confident, and the first thing that was noticed about him was his clothes. There is no way that the uniform of an Imperial Group Captain to be shabby.

Following behind Group Captain Lupin are two men that no one has ever seen before. These two men walked synchronized, but for those who are present at the reading, it is not the face, which none recognized, or the clothes, which are battle fatigues, that is their concern, no, their concern was the fact that both men are carrying a P-90 each.

Minister Fudge, however, does not know what the hell those things are, he took a step forward and in the most menacing voice that he can muster, he said, "Harry Potter, you are under arrest"

Harry merely nodded in reply, which confused Fudge and his party. They did not think that it would be this easy to arrest the boy. Harry, however, turned his attention towards the beautiful lady who was standing beside him, "imagine that, love, the ministry actually acting"

Hermione nodded, "I thought that they would need months and months to even figure out who we are" she said in a mocking tone, and then she added, "Now that I think about it love, they know the two of us, so that's what probably made them move fast"

"Harry" Dumbledore said, stepping forward and deciding that he needs to end this himself instead of allowing Fudge to continue with his show.

The Old Man had somehow convinced himself that if he can convince Harry to come with him, he would be able to deal with Fudge later, though from the look on the face of the Minister, which show undisguised hostility towards Dumbledore, the chance of that happening is very faint.

"Harry" Dumbledore said, "Let's talk about this in a more private setting shall we?" from the tone of his voice, it was clear that he expected Harry to just blindly nod and blindly follow his orders.

So that is why he was nearly stunned when Harry replied, "Sorry, old man, got plans with the beautiful lady, and we do not include having our minds read" he smirked towards Hermione and added in a loud voice, "He probably wants to know what we intend to do tonight love"

Group Captain Lupin, who was watching the reaction of the men in front of them, fought hard against himself to keep his mouth shut. He knew that if he did not, he would be laughing at how big the mouth of Fudge is when the minister's jaw dropped. Fudge was not the only one with a dropped jaw, half of the audience had dropped their jaws as well.

"He probably needs to practice with a mudblood because no one else wants to do it with him" Draco Malfoy, unwisely, shouted.

Harry turned towards the young man, and everyone assumed that Harry would attack, but instead, Harry smiled towards his rival and said, "Hermione and I were planning on having dinner by the sea tonight, and unlike you, pea-brain, we do not need to practice, we've been brought up with manners"

Hermione nodded, then she turned towards Harry and with mock surprise asked, "I am curious how you managed to learn good manners when you spent your first ten years being abused by your guardians though?" she turned towards a stunned Dumbledore who still has his mouth open and added, "No matter, you would not be returning there anyway"

"Ms. Granger…" Dumbledore began.

Harry stopped the headmaster, "Headmaster" he began, "My fiancée and I are going to live together from now on" the tone of his voice would have ended any arguments coming from anyone, but Dumbledore tried to press on. He found himself once more cut off by Harry when the young man said, "I do not care about the blood wards that you have tied to me and my aunt, headmaster, they do not work anymore since I abandoned that place"

Dumbledore paused, and then felt the angry stare of almost everyone in the alley at him. Blood Wards are illegal for a reason, and to know that the self-styled 'Leader of the Light' actually uses them would go far as to destroy his reputation. Knowing this, Dumbledore began to speak to defend himself, possibly to deny that he had placed blood wards on the property and tied it to Harry, but before he can open his mouth, Undersecretary Umbridge said, "Then perhaps you would want to come with us to prove that fiction, Mr. Potter"

Group Captain Lupin took that chance to get some revenge on the woman that had prevented him from getting a steady job because of his condition, he stepped forward and glared at the Undersecretary, "That would be Prince Harry or Your Highness to you, Madam Undersecretary"

"So Potter" Fudge replied, taking over from his stunned undersecretary, "You intend to form your own nation now, and have you as the prince" he smiled as he said, "King Harry Potter the first perhaps?"

Harry sighed, "Actually Minister, I would be the third of my name to become king of the Holy Empire of Britannia" he replied, he quickly added, "And I do not need to form my own nation, its already there and waiting for me and my bride"

Fudge clearly wanted to retort, but he was prevented from doing so by his own Undersecretary, who had finally recognized Lupin, "How dare you werewolf!" she screamed, "to shout at me like that"

Group Captain Lupin glared at Umbridge who uncharacteristically cowered, "You would address me as Group Captain Lupin ma'am" he said, "or we would have your liver in a stick" he smiled and then added, "Werewolves like me do not particularly enjoy human liver, vampires do, but I bet that even the hungriest vampire would not touch yours"

Umbridge moved to attack Group Captain Lupin but then she suddenly paused as the ground before her suddenly sported a tiny smoking hole. Attention turned towards Group Captain Lupin, who was holding a still smoking handgun, "I would not hesitate to put bullets in your head, Madam Umbridge" he said the last with sarcasm, "but His Highness had insisted that we attempt to do this diplomatically, so I find that I have to control myself from shooting all of you"

"Group Captain!" Harry said, he turned towards his military aide and said, "Let us try to solve this diplomatically"

"Then come with us Potter!" Fudge screamed.

"I am afraid that that is not diplomatic" Harry replied, he was about to add to that when Major Jenkins run from the bank with his radioman behind him. The SAS commander handed Harry the radio while saying, "Our rides are here sir"

Harry nodded, "Have them stay on standby for the time being Major" Harry replied, "We are still not finished talking, and" he added, "What is the status of the other party I asked you to send?"

"The British SAS is the one handling it sir" Major Jenkins replied, "Dr. Granger has a reserve commission with the SAS sir, and they are using that as cover to bring him back to Britannia, they have already warned him and an escort has already appeared on his porch, he should be at Britannia by this time tomorrow sir"

"Good" Harry replied, before turning his attention towards his old headmaster. Surprisingly, the old man was seething, and Harry knows that that is because he plans on using Hermione's parents against him. Now that they are on their way out of the country, that option has been removed from him.

"Enough of this!" Fudge shouted, clearly his patience had already run out, and Harry noted that the minister had used the same tone of voice that he had used back during term when he turned up at Hogwarts to arrest Dumbledore, "Dawlish! Merced! Take him!"

The two named aurors nodded and charged forward, to the surprise of everyone, Harry and Hermione just stood there, completely unconcerned that two battle aurors are heading towards them. As the two men took their first step up on the marble staircase, multiple thunderclaps were suddenly heard coming from behind Harry and Hermione for a few seconds. When the thunderclaps were over and done with, the two aurors fell down back at the ground, their bodies riddled with bullet holes. Both men were dead even before they can figure out what the hell was happening.

"Anyone else want to try that?" Harry asked as his two SAS bodyguards quickly reloaded their weapons and brought them back at ready positions.

Any forthcoming answer was drowned out by the tell-tale sound of rotors as two Chinook helicopters bearing the Britannian flag suddenly appeared on the skies over Diagon Alley. The witches and wizards who are watching the confrontation, unaware what a helicopter is, incorrectly assumed that it is some kind of dangerous creature that one should not tempt, they began to run in different directions, except towards the bank where the two helicopters are maneuvering for a landing.

Instead of landing, however, the two helicopters hovered a few feet off the ground before lowering their rear ramps. The edge of those ramps rested at the elevated marble platform where Harry, Hermione and their party were waiting, and once the ramps were secured, Harry led Hermione into the cavernous interior of the twin-rotor cargo chopper. They were followed a few moments later by the rest of their party.

In the ten minutes that it took for the entire party to board the two helicopters, only one man was courageous enough to try to sneak a spell into the helicopters. His reductor spell was badly aimed, because he was hoping to avoid being seen rather than hitting the target. The jet of light streaked past the two hovering helicopters and luckily also missed the bank itself. No one in magical Britain needs to be reminded of what would have happened if the goblins decided to launch another rebellion.

Others who were emboldened by the actions of their fellow wizard were quickly dissuaded when two AH-1 gunship helicopters suddenly appeared overhead them and buzzed them. The two heavily armed attack helicopters quickly scared the wizards and witches in the alley, and they did so without even resorting to the impressive array of weapons that they have.

Once everyone was aboard the helicopter, the ramps were secured by the crews of the helicopter as the two helicopters gathered altitude. Upon reaching their cruising altitude, the two helicopters moved forward, joined, a few moments later, by the two Cobra gunship helicopters and two Tornado fighters with Royal Air Force insignia.

**Heathrow Airport**

**London, England**

Only one of the two Chinook helicopters landed at Heathrow a few minutes later. The other helicopter, carrying the heavy weapons and some other materials, would head directly to the Potter Mansion at Dover where the passengers would disembark and then they would join their brethren. They would be traveling by sea and would take some weeks before they reach their destination at the Pacific.

The other helicopter, this one carrying Harry, Hermione, Group Captain Lupin, and some bodyguards, landed at the edge of Heathrow airport.

Having been informed by RAF home command that this helicopter was carrying the head of a foreign nation, and that the occupant of the helicopter is a close friend of Prince Charles, very few questions were asked by the tower operators. In fact, if one were to listen in on the conversation, one would get the notion that the pilots were the ones who are commanding the controllers instead of the other way around.

The single Chinook helicopter landed beside an already prepped C-37A that was painted blue, red and white. Two armed security guards, both wearing blue jacket and each sporting an MP-5 submachine gun, flanked the only entrance to the aircraft, the built-in retractable staircase.

The helicopter landed in such a way that the ramp was facing towards this staircase, and the pilot landed as close as possible to the aircraft. This way, the exposure time as the passengers were transferred would be minimal.

First off the helicopter was Harry, he was escorting Hermione, and despite the fact that both of them were in a hurry, they managed to transfer from the helicopter and into the plane in style.

The two security guards saluted Harry as he helped Hermione up the plane first, and once she was on the plane, Harry returned the salute of the two guards before he climbed aboard as well.

Next up was Group Captain Lupin who easily returned the salute of the two men. Once the three men were aboard the plane, the pilot of the plane retracted the stairs and at the same time, the two security guards run forward to the ramp of the Chinook. Once they are in, the ramp of the cargo chopper was closed and secured again, and then the Chinook gained speed and attitude again, this time, she is heading south to Dover to join the first helicopter that was already on its way there.

Hermione found herself staring at what could only be the most luxurious aircraft interior that she had ever seen before. Although she is no stranger to air travel, having used airliners with her family every time they take overseas trips, the aircrafts that they had used are all people movers with many seats and many rows.

This aircraft only has seventeen seats, arranged differently and in such a way that it reminded her of an office room. Each of the seventeen seats in the aircraft are able to swivel in any direction and she can tell that each seat is finished in expensive leather. There are some wooden flat surfaces that are built into the floor of the aircraft itself, preventing it from becoming a lethal weapon in the event of turbulence, and a giant flat-screen television mounted at the far wall.

Upon entering the aircraft, Hermione saw that there is already someone inside the plane, and she instantly recognized her.

Hermione run towards her while screaming, "Tonks!"

Nymphadora Tonks hated her first name, and that is why all of those who know her refer to her by her last name. An auror by training, she later became a member of the Order following the supposed return of Voldemort, but the events of the past week, coupled with being told that Dumbledore is not the Leader of the light that he proclaims himself to be, had made her change her allegiance.

"Miss me that much already?" she asked Hermione as she slowly pushed her away from her, and then she smiled at her, "Where's Harry?"

"I'm here" Harry said as he entered the aircraft. Hermione joined him and he helped her to the only sofa in the plane interior. Hermione was surprised that it actually has its own seatbelts and once she was seated, Harry fastened her belt for her before he took his seat beside her and worked on his own.

"See here, Mr. Potter" Tonks said, using her best authoritative voice, "I was promised Group Captain Lupin if I were to chose your side"

Harry smiled at the former auror, "Well, he is speaking with the pilot" he replied, and then his smile turned to a smirk, "You can have him all for yourself when he gets here, but Hermione and I gets the sofa"

Tonks laughed and at the same time that she did, Group Captain Lupin entered the cabin, saying, "We already have permission to take-off, my lord" he looked at Tonks and rolled his eyes, "Do you really have to announce to the world that we are now together?"

A confused Hermione turned her attention first at Group Captain Lupin, and then at Tonks, and then at the Group Captain again, before settling down on her own boyfriend, who promptly explained, "They're together now since Group Captain Lupin is the only one who has the stamina to stand her" he smirked at his girlfriend while adding, "Must have come from being a werewolf"

Hermione smiled, and then she turned towards Tonks. She was unsurprised to see that Group Captain Lupin had taken the seat beside her and she was helping him with the seatbelts even if it was obvious that he knew how to fasten them. It was like watching a parent dot over a child who was trying to show that he is not a child anymore, and what made it more interesting and funny was the fact that Tonks is younger than Group Captain Lupin.

At that moment, the aircraft began to taxi to the runaway. There was no conversation as the aircraft gathered speed and before long, they are now on the air. Once the red 'fasten your seatbelts' sign was turned off, Harry removed his belt before turning his attention towards Hermione, who had removed her own belt.

Harry wanted to talk with her, but before he can move, Hermione suddenly allowed her head to fall on his shoulder, which caused Harry to smile.

"Are we going to keep his pose until we arrive at Britannia, my love?" Harry asked, the mirth in his voice obvious, "it's a good twelve hour flight"

Hermione smiled, and then she asked something that suddenly concerned her, "Can this plane reach Britannia without landing?" she asked.

Group Captain Lupin was the one who replied, he shook his head, but then said, "Not to worry, the Americans have a KC-135 at the Indian Ocean, they promised us some fuel and this plane is modified for airborne refueling, so there should be no problem" he smiled at Hermione and added, "We deal with the Americans as much as we deal with the British and other NATO countries, but most of our dealings are with the Pacific Rim counties since they are our closest neighbors"

Having been sufficiently informed, Hermione turned her attention back towards Harry and said, "I would have no problem keeping this pose, my love, but I doubt that you would" and then she smiled at him. .

"Remus" Tonks suddenly said, and when Group Captain Lupin turned his attention towards her, he saw her pointing at Harry and Hermione, and, imitating a child, she suddenly said, "I want that too" and to complete her spoiled brat act, she started stamping her foot on the floor, earning a smile from everyone in the aircraft. After a few moments, she stopped and looked at all three of them with a question, "What? You think I am joking?" she asked, and then she glared at her boyfriend, "I want one too!" she screamed.


	5. Chapter 5

**FIVE**

**Airborne, C-37A Flight 101**

**Britannian VIP flight**

Harry slowly opened his eyes. He did not need to look to his right to know that his beloved Hermione was still there, it would have been pretty hard for her to be not there if he can feel the weight of her head on his shoulders.

It was a welcome weight, and it reminded him that they would always be together. After a few moments of remembering the things that the two of them had gone through in their relatively long friendship, and letting a smile spread on his face, he looked at her, carefully so that he may not disturb her rest.

The first thought that came into his mind when he saw Hermione resting on his shoulders was that she is beautiful.

With her eyes closed, he cannot see her beautiful brown eyes, those eyes that are one of the most beautiful features of her beloved, but even if that is the case, she is beautiful.

She was resting her head on his shoulders in such a way that some strands of her brown hair were covering her eyes, and Harry gently used one finger to move the few stands to the other side, one at a time, enjoying the sensation that this is bringing him, even though he cannot tell for certain what this sensation is.

He was still moving strands of brown hair while thinking of what they had gone through before and imagining what they would go through in the future when Hermione opened her eyes.

At first, she was surprised that she found herself resting on the shoulders of Harry, and then, as she remembered everything that had recently happened, she was able to control herself so that she did not scream, nor did she make any move that would warn her beloved that she was wide awake.

She knew that it was stupid, that Harry would do what he is doing even if she is awake if only she would ask him, but right now, she wants to stay like this; pretend that she is asleep while her beloved gently moved her hair from her face with his finger.

Part of Hermione was imagining their future together, and while he did not chose Harry because he was a prince, that would have been a plus factor, but since she had already chosen him even before _he_ was made aware that he is a prince, then it was not really a relevant criteria for her choice. She reminded herself that she chose him because of who he is, not because of who he is perceived to be.

Even though she did not choose him because of his title, she knew that there is no way that she could escape the publicity that would result from their marriage. She had no doubt that their marriage would be public, and that it would attract a lot of guests. As a girl, she dreamt of the perfect marriage, and she certainly would not mind making the heart of some other girl out there melt as they watch hers, but the second part was something that she had always equated with the perfect marriage.

She had imagined the perfect marriage with the perfect man even before she turned eleven years old, and yet, for the first eleven years of her life, and maybe even for the next one or two years, she had never been able to put a name to the man who would be standing beside her, she was not even able to put a face to the man that would be standing beside her.

That all changed when they hit their third year. Hermione was not sure what had changed, but she believed that it had something to do with her being petrified.

In that lonely dark abyss, there was always one voice that seemed to reach out to her, and she knew that it was Harry. That was the beginning of when she started to seriously fall in love with him. She had an infatuation for him when he saved her from the bloody mountain troll, but that was just that, an infatuation, that she dare not act upon for she was not sure if Harry is the one for her. When she woke up after being cured of her petrification, she realized, she no longer has an infatuation for one Harry James Potter, no, infatuation had become too small of a word for what she feels for him, it had blossomed into an ever growing flower called love.

She, however, feared what would have happened had she acted upon it. She feared that Harry would not like her, and she cannot even blame him for that, after all, who would want a buck-toothed, bushy-haired know-it-all like her, and because of that, she fought against telling Harry her true feelings.

When they saved Sirius from being legally murdered during their Third Year, when they had their time-turner experience, Hermione would always consider that time that they spent riding Buckbeak as their first date. She had never gotten used to magical flying, but that one, that one she would gladly repeat, if only to be able to embrace Harry again.

Now, she is here, her head resting on his shoulders as he fussed over her. it was not exactly uncommon for Hermione to rest her shoulder on Harry's shoulders, she had done her fair bit back when Ron was not talking to him, during their fourth year when they were researching for the Tri-Wizard Tournament, but somehow, Hermione can feel that this one is different, it was as if it is acting as a herald of change, acting as an indication that they would always be together.

For his part, Harry was also remembering those times. One of his favorite memories of the time that they had spent together was the same as the one that Hermione has, when they rescued Sirius during their Third Year. Harry was aware that Hermione did not like magical flying one bit, but now that he realized it, she never did complain about flying when he is with her.

He wondered when he started to develop romantic feelings for his best friend, but then quickly decided that it would be useless to even remember since he is sure that he would not be able to do so. He briefly regretted the many opportunities that their closeness had brought them, and the fact that he had not acted back then, because he was afraid that she does not return those feelings that he has for her, and that he would rather remain as her friend than lose her by taking this risk. He consoled himself by telling himself that the past is not something that he can return to, even if one has a time-turner, he can only try to make amends, and as he continued to move the strands of hair blocking Hermione's face, he made a vow to himself that he would make amends for the things that he should have acted on before.

He was about to remove his hand from the front of her face when she gently held it with her hand grabbing her wrist. A surprised Harry looked at Hermione and smiled in reply to her smile, "Harry" she said with one of the most beautiful smiles that Harry has ever remembered, "We need to talk, my lord"

Harry frowned at her, but her displeasure was not as a result of the fact that they need to talk, but rather, the fact that she still called him using the honorific, he looked at her with feigned anger in his voice as he asked, "I thought we have agreed that you would refer to me as 'Harry'?"

Hermione smiled at him, "We did" she replied, nodding, she gently and slowly removed her head from Harry's shoulder, and then stood up straight before turning towards Harry and adding, "But sometimes, I slip"

Harry looked at Hermione hard, for a few moments, and then he nodded, he smiled at her, "What do we need to talk about?"

"I saw your memories Harry" Hermione said, "I know that Dumbledore has been manipulating you, I felt the righteous anger that you had when you were informed that Ron and most of his family are stealing from you, and I felt the anger that you felt when the goblins informed you that Dumbledore ignored your parents will" she placed one of her hands on his chest to forestall her from talking, before she added, "I also felt the heartbreak when you read your mother's letters" she blushed slightly as she added, "I also felt the heart break and the hopelessness and despair when you sat by me during our second year, when I was at the Hospital Wing" her stare bore straight into his eyes as she added, "Just as I know that you have seen and felt mine" she removed her hand from his chest and then held both of his with both of hers, "There are no longer any secrets between us"

Harry nodded, he tightened his grip on her hand, but in such a way that would not hurt her as he said, "No secrets between us, my love" and then he gently moved in for a kiss.

He, however, did not continue, he waited for Hermione to give him the permission, but instead of giving her permission, Hermione met his lips halfway. The kiss that they shared was perfect; the two of them knew that it was perfect.

Neither of them can tell what made it perfect, but for once, Hermione did not care about logic, she was far too busy to worry about that, in fact, she was probably far too busy to even think about oxygen as she felt the lips of the man that she had always loved on hers.

For his part, Harry felt the exact same thing, but having kissed a girl before, he cannot help but compare the kiss that he is sharing with his beloved with the other kiss that he had before. It did not even take him a fraction of a second to decide that the kiss that is now sharing with Hermione and the kiss that he would be sharing with her from now on is infinitely better than the one that he shared with the girl that he thought he was in love with.

He now realized how stupid he is, that he had this beautiful, extremely caring, smart young witch practically in front of him and he had to let his eyes wonder. He wondered why he is so stupid, why he never really considered Hermione as the girl that he want to spend the rest of his life with, and then it hit him, this kiss, it was a familiar sensation.

Harry and Hermione broke the kiss a few seconds earlier than both of them would have wanted, but given the familiar, and yet unfamiliar sensation, that they suddenly began feeling, there is nothing that they can do about it.

"Why is it so familiar?" Hermione asked, the first one to break the silence is usually the one who wanted an answer first, she looked at Harry, saw him looking at her, and she read the fear in his face, she knew that he was afraid that she did not like his kiss, and it made her blush, "Harry, love, its not you"

Harry nodded, "I know" he replied, he blinked and then turned all of his brain cells into formulating an answer for the question that Hermione had placed on the table. After a few minutes of thinking, he suddenly had a radical idea. He looked at Hermione and then said, "I think I have an answer" he began, and then he hesitated after saying, "But…"

Hermione prompted him, "Tell me love" she said, encouraging him, she blinked and then admitted, "I think that I also have a theory, but if I could hear yours first?"

Harry smiled at her, he leaned in and kiss her playfully on her cheeks, before saying, "I think that we have been obliviated a little too many times" he said, when he looked at Hermione, she actually nodded, indicating to Harry that that was exactly what she was thinking as well, "And I think that we have actually kissed before, a lot, and that we are probably going out"

Hermione nodded, "I think so as well" she admitted, she looked at Harry and said, "Our bodies, our lips and our mind, remember the feeling when we have each others lips, but our mind cannot identify it because the knowledge has been removed from our minds" she cursed Dumbledore and said, "It can only be him"

"I agree" Harry said, but he was disturbed about something else, he glanced at the other couple that had accompanied them for this trip, and was unsurprised to find them both asleep, and they are, Harry was pleased to note, hanging into each other like there is no tomorrow. Harry needs his military aide awake to ask him the question, but decided to let him have his deserved rest, he had, after all, earned it with his meticulous planning to make sure that the last prank of Sirius goes off without a hitch.

"You have a theory?" Hermione asked.

Harry nodded, "We are dating" he replied, he smiled at her and said, "Probably even before we hit fifth year," he scratched his head, "if this is correct, then that would explain why I hesitated with Cho, anyway, we are dating, but Lemon Drop does not approve of it for his plan and decided to interfere, he obliviated both of us and then ended our relationship"

Hermione nodded, "I think so too" she admitted, she sighed and then asked, "but if that is true, then how come we never found out when you were told about the machinations of the Old Man?"

Harry paused for a few moments to think about an answer for that one. A few moments later, he looked at the eye of his possibly old girlfriend already, and said, "We were very careful, we hid our relationship from anything and everyone, possibly used Ronald as a cover, and that is why my men did not get any information on it"

Hermione seemed to think about this, and then after a few moments, she nodded, and presented evidence that she think would support this theory, "there are some weird entries in my diary" she admitted, and before Harry can ask her what those entries talked about, Hermione added, "Nothing more but torn pages, though when I try to look for them, I cannot find them anywhere" she sighed and then added, "I think the Old Man had me erase evidence of our relationship every time he obliviated us and then had me throw those pages into the fire at the common room" she seemed to cry as she threw herself at Harry, "Oh Harry" she said, tears threatening to appear on her eyes, "What have I done?"

Harry embraced his girlfriend, and he put her on a tight but comfortable embrace as he started to stroke her long hair from her head to the small of her back, giving her a comfortable backrub at the same time, "There, Hermione" Harry said, he gently pushed her at arms length, but did not allow her to remove herself from his arms, "You did not do anything wrong, my love, you were manipulated by that bastard to do that, but I promise you that I would make him and all those who would come between the two of us, I would make them wish for death before I kill them'

Hermione nodded, she found herself in need of assurance, and she leaned in closer to Harry, they met halfway and again shared a kiss. They broke their kiss after a few moments, and then Hermione asked, "What about that piece of information about Ron and Ginny?"

Harry grimaced, but his displeasure was not directed at Hermione, rather, it was directed at their two so-called friends. Harry still has no idea how the intelligence gathering arm of his Empire operates, but he was assured that they are the best in the business and while they would never guarantee that their information is the truth, their conclusions based on circumstantial and concrete evidence are logical and always the best.

It would appear that the 'Weasley Quartet', as the four Weasley's, - Molly, Ronald, Ginevra and Percy – are referred to by the intelligence agents of the Empire, have planned to brew love potions to feed to both Hermione and Harry. It does not take a genius to know that the plan was to have Harry fall for Ginny, while Hermione was supposed to fall for Ron. Intelligence had not yet been able to come up with a timetable, but they believe that the first potion would be administered through their drinks at the welcoming feast at Hogwarts. Since it would be at Hogwarts, the Headmaster is believed to be the one who had instigated the plan.

"They have thirty days, sorry, twenty nine days now" Harry said, he looked at her and smiled, "you know exactly how much they stole from us?"

Hermione nodded, and then she blinked, "You just said 'us' Harry" she said, she thought that he made a mistake, but then she watched him as he shook his head, indicating that she heard him correctly.

Harry smiled at her and he gently placed his finger on Hermione's lips just as she was about to say something, "Hermione" Harry said, "We both know that this is what we want"

Hermione tried to protest, she opened her mouth, but then before she can say it, the protest died even before she can say a single syllable of protest, and she nodded. Unable to deny that this is exactly what she wants, she merely looked at Harry and smiled while nodding her consent.

"Don't you think that I should do this traditionally?" he asked with a smile, he reached into his pocket and then removed a small jewelry purple jewelry box. Hermione has an idea what is in that box, but before she can say anything, she suddenly found Harry kneeling on one leg before her, and he was presenting the box to her. It was open and it contained a ring as Hermione had suspected.

It, however, was no ordinary ring; it was not even an ordinary engagement ring. Her eyes bulged at the sight of the piece of jewelry. There was only one stone in it, a diamond, cut and refined in the most beautiful way. It was set at the center of the ring, and held there by a griffin and a unicorn.

"Hermione Jean Granger" Harry began, "I know that I have not been the greatest friend to you, I know that I have been ignorant of you, and I know that I have hurt you more times than I care to remember, but I am not offering this to you as a way for me to amend for those wrongs that I have done to you, I am offering this to you because I know that even if I were to live for more than a century, I know that I would never find a person who has and would love me as much as you do, who has and would care for me as much as you care for me, and who has and would stay by my side" he looked directly into her eyes, and once he did, Hermione saw the nervousness in his eyes. He might have appeared calm and collected as he recited the first few lines of her proposal, but now Hermione can see the fear of rejection in those beautiful green eyes where she could lose herself, and Harry finally asked the most important question a boy can ask a girl, "Hermione, would you make me the happiest and luckiest man by consenting to be my wife?"

Hermione had always imagined that she would be jumping in joy when she gets the chance to answer a question like that, in the off chance that she would not be jumping with joy, she thought that she would faint, and in the off chance that she would not be jumping with joy or fainting, she would just stare.

She did none of the three. She did not think jumping in joy aboard a private jet would be behavior befitting that of a lady of her new station, for she already knew what her answer would be and what her answer would lead to. She also did not think that it would be proper to faint and make Harry wait for her to wake up so that he can have her answer, and in the same vein, she did not think that it would be proper to make just stare.

Instead, what she did was to reach out to the man that had proposed to her. She gently took the box away from him and she carefully laid it on a flat surface to the side of the sofa that they share. She knew that she does not have nowhere near the strength that is required to pull him up, but try to pull him up, she did. Harry helped her by standing on her own, and when he was standing up, Hermione threw herself at him and kissed him. After she broke the kiss, she looked straight into his eyes and, with tears in her own, she nodded, not trusting her voice.

Harry smiled, anyone within five hundred meters of the young prince can see the relief and joy in that smile. He gently reached out to the surface where Hermione had placed the jewel box. He gently removed the ring and then he took Hermione's hand. She allowed him to slip the ring into her finger, and once that was done, she admired the ring.

"It looks beautiful on you, my Lady" a voice from their side said.

Both Harry and Hermione turned to see Group Captain Lupin up. Since they had continently ignored him and his companion, dismissing both of them as asleep, neither Harry nor Hermione are aware as to how much of the conversation that they have heard, but before one of them can ask, Group Captain Lupin said, "I must congratulate you, my Lord" he inclined his head respectfully towards Harry, "and my Lady" he inclined his head respectfully towards Hermione.

"Thank you, Group Captain" Harry replied, forcing himself to remember the formalities. What he really wanted to do was to run towards the werewolf and embrace him as well. Looking towards his betrothed, he had the distinct feeling that she would have wanted to do the same thing.

"Aw, Remy, when can we have ours?" Tonks, whom the Group Captain left on her seat and had just woken up, asked. She turned her attention towards the two teenagers in the cabin and respectfully curtsied, surprising both Harry and Hermione with her grace and finesse, which neither would have expected from someone as clumsy as Tonks. "Congratulations" she began, "My Lord and my Lady"

"Thank you Auror Tonks" Harry replied, he smiled at his cousin and then quipped, "We would have to find a new title for you, since you are going to resign from the auror corps"

"Is that allowed?" Hermione asked, turning towards Harry, and then she turned towards Tonks and explained, "I mean, with the war on and all that"

Tonks shook her head, "If they don't accept my resignation, then its actually better for me, my Lady" she saw Hermione roll her eyes at that honorific, but only for the purpose of annoying Hermione, she did not change her use of the honorific, "That simply means that if and when I decide to return to Britain, they would owe me back-pay" she sighed dramatically, "I guess that they would have no choice but to fire me and poor defenseless and penniless me has to find a man who can take care of me" she said the last with a sarcastic tone as she looked at the available, relatively young, man wearing a blue greatcoat that made him look dashing beside her.


	6. Chapter 6

** SIX  
><strong>**Camelot Palace**

**Avalon, Britannia**

Hermione woke up to her first day in Britannia, fearing the day that was about to come. It was not that she was afraid because she might make a mistake, or afraid that she might find herself in mortal danger, she was afraid because of the luxury that is now presented before her.

First, she woke up in a four poster bed that was larger than the one that she had at her Hogwarts dorm. As if that is not enough, the bedroom that was assigned to her was bigger than the entire Gryffindor Tower back at Hogwarts.

Deciding on taking her morning bath first before she ask her serving-elf, who is a volunteer and who is paid, for breakfast, she made her way to a door that was located farthest from her bed. She had already inspected the bathroom last night, so she resigned herself to using it.

Looking once more, she sighed once and then proceeded to remove her clothes for her bath. The bathroom has a shower that could fit eight people, a relatively small bathtub that could fit ten, and a large bathtub that may be best termed as a swimming pool for it is.

She remembered her reaction last night when Harry showed her this room, she turned towards him and would have requested for a smaller room, but before she can do so, Harry apologized because this is the smallest room that they have and besides, it is only temporary since after their marriage, they would be sleeping together.

Harry then showed her his room. It was a bit larger than the one that Hermione is staying at, but not by much. The four poster bed that was the main purpose of the room can comfortably fit six people with ample room. His closet was a walk-in closet that is a big room in itself. Enough clothes can fit in the dresser for a different pair of pants and top and shoes every year without having to repeat any clothes.

His bathroom is probably a house in itself. He has a shower that can fit eight people and the same relatively small bathtub as the one at Hermione's temporary room that can fit ten, but his large bathtub was an Olympic size swimming pool.

With another sigh as she looked at all this luxury in front of her, she entered the shower and began to wash off.

She emerged from the bathroom some forty minutes later. She had taken longer than usual because she told herself to try the bathtub and when she did, she lost herself thinking, but after forty minutes, she was finally out of the bathroom and, with assistance from her serving-elf, she was able to fit in the blue maxi-dress that was laid for her late last night.

She was about to call for her serving-elf to ask her for some breakfast when she noticed that there was a note on her vanity table. She took the note and then read it. Having been informed that the prince is expecting her to have breakfast with him with the rest of the high ranking members of the government, she sighed and then left her room, politely flagging down a passing court page and asking him to escort her to the main dining hall.

The clearly embarrassed court page was able to bring her to the main dinning hall, and then he bowed to her before disappearing faster than a mouse, much to the amusement of Hermione.

Two guards, both armed with ceremonial halberds and wearing ceremonial armor, flanked the entrance to the main dinning hall. The entrance is not a door, but rather, merely a frame. It was a large pointed arch, Hermione looked up and guessed that the cornerstone must be located a good eight feet up.

The pointed arch was the main entrance and could fit ten people walking side by side, but it was by no means the only entrance to the main dinning hall. Inside, she espied several smaller pointed arches that also serve as entrances to the main dinning hall, and she guessed that those arches lead to passageways that lead to other parts of the castle.

The main dinning hall itself was as wide as the Hogwarts Great Hall, but twice as long. Unlike the Hogwarts Great Hall where there are only five tables, one for each of the four houses and one for the staff, this hall has several tables, although all of them are circular tables with a capacity of twelve people.

She noted that there are not that many people inside the room; only one table was occupied, though Hermione could see that there is only one seat left in the table. It was the head table since it was placed on the only elevated platform in the entire hall, and separated from the other tables by a small dance floor.

Hermione can also see that two other tables, the ones that are closest to the head table and located to either side, are occupied. Unlike the head table, there are no empty seats in those two tables, and she noted with interest that one table was filled with men wearing military uniforms that must be military aides to the various people that are seating on the head table while the other table was filled with civilians wearing suits, which would make them civilian aides to the civilians up at the table.

Harry was the first one to see her, because he was seated at the seat that would allow him to see anyone entering the hall. Breaking tradition, he decided to stand up when he saw her. Seeing that their future king was standing, the rest of the occupants of the table stood up, but they were not fast enough to remind Harry of protocol, the young prince had walked away from his seat and headed straight to Hermione intending to escort her to her designated seat, which was to the left of his.

"I do not think that you have to escort me all the time, Harry" Hermione whispered towards Harry.

Harry merely smiled, and then he turned towards her and said, "I would have gotten bored real fast if you had stayed out of this hall for five more minutes" he sighed dramatically and said, "I need you by my side, Hermione, and not only because I love you, though that is the greatest reason that I need you by my side, but rather, because you are the smartest person that I have ever known"

Hermione smiled at her husband-to-be, and in a move that would have brought frowns on the faces of those who strictly adhere to protocols, she pinched him lightly on his face.

From her peripheral vision, she saw that some of the men at the table were about to take offense, but she also saw Group Captain Lupin there, and he was merely smiling. The rest of the occupants of the table must have seen the reaction of the Group Captain, and since Group Captain Lupin is the military aide of the young king, and the person who knows him and Hermione the best, they decided to follow his lead in this one.

Harry pulled a seat for Hermione and saw her seated first. Since the rest of the occupants of the table are born in the Empire and are either stickler for rules or just deferring to Harry, they did not immediately resume their seats until after Harry was already seated.

Once he was seated, the rest of the table followed suit, and Harry decided to take over the meeting for the time being. He looked at the nine other men in the circular table and said, "Gentlemen, may I introduce? My lovely wife-to-be, Hermione Jean Granger"

Hermione was greeted by a positive reaction. She saw that while some of the men around the room did not approve of the way that their prince had introduced her, their disapproval seem to be just centered on the way that she was introduced. As she looked at them, she did not think that any of the men seated with them would actively plot to get her out of the way.

"Gentlemen" Hermione greeted them, inclining her head forward. Since she cannot incline her head in their general direction because they are seating on a circular table, she merely inclined her head forward.

"Let me introduce them to you, Lady Hermione" Group Captain Lupin said, taking over from Harry. The Group Captain was seated to Harry's right side, he decided to introduce the man seated to his own right, and carried on from there, "Lord Arthur James Henly, our Lord High Chancellor, Lord Geoffrey Brandon, our Lord High Treasurer, Lord Henry Aims, our Lord President of the Council, Lord Sean Thomas Anniston, our Lord Privy Seal, Lord Daniel Richard Cobly, our Lord Great Chamberlain, Lord Victor Kevin Andrews, our Lord High Constable, Lord High General Timothy Thames, our Lord Earl Marshall, and Lord High Admiral Alexander Charles York, our Lord High Admiral" as each man was named, he inclined his head towards Hermione.

The first seven men that were named looked to Hermione like career people. They are either old or in their middle years. As she looked at them one by one as they are introduced, she can practically see the experience and casual intelligence that each man posses, it was pretty easy to see when one would look at their eyes.

The last person among the eight introduced was a mystery to Hermione. He seemed to be in the same age as her and Harry, and yet, when she looked at the shoulder boards on the black greatcoat that he was wearing, she saw five diamonds on them, marking him as an Imperial High Admiral. The story was true when one would look at the ribbons and decorations that he has on his chest, they number more than the ones that Harry and Group Captain Lupin have combined.

Group Captain Lupin then turned to the last person in the table that was not yet named, "Our Prime Minister, the Honorable James Fork"

Hermione inclined her head towards him, and she returned the greeting by inclining his head as well.

"With your permission, Your Majesty" James Henly said after the introduction, and after breakfast, fried eggs and sausages, have appeared on the plate of Hermione, "May we continue with our earlier discussions?"

Harry nodded, "Yes" he replied, he then looked towards Lord Alexander York, the Imperial High Admiral, and said, "As I had said before we were joined by Hermione, I am worried about the possibility of my enemies invading this sanctuary"

"Your Majesty" Lord Alexander replied. From the tone of his voice, Hermione can guess that he is probably just a few years older than both her and Harry, confirming her earlier suspicions that he is the youngest in the group, "Whoever makes an enemy of Your Majesty is an enemy of the Holy Empire" he paused for a few moments, and then he blinked before addressing the question of Harry, "Magical people know about the existence of the Holy Empire of Britannia, but they cannot enter the island easily. The only point of travel is through the use of non-magical, or as the British" at this he inclined his head respectfully towards Hermione, "would call it, muggles, transportation, just as Your Majesty and your party have found out, and we do not believe that the Purebloods that Your Majesty are at odds with right now would even think of using them, hell, with respect, Your Majesty, they do not even know what an airship is, let alone an airplane"

"My Lord" Lord Timothy Thames said, "I agree with the opinion of my counterpart in regards to defense" he glanced at Lord Alexander, and then back at the young prince, "We do not believe that the purebloods are going to launch a non-magical invasion of Britannia, they do not have the numbers required for it, and even if they do, they would die at our defense lines"

Harry looked at Group Captain Lupin and saw him nod, indicating that his old professor has every faith on what the two men had just said. Harry decided to trust his professor on this, so he nodded as well, "Very well, gentlemen" Harry said, indicating the two men who have voiced their opinion, "I would trust that you and yours would be able to defend our nation in the case that the enemy does the unexpected"

Both Lord High Admiral York and High General Thames bowed their heads slightly towards their young king. The issue of defense now over and done with, the next issue was brought to the table, and after this, another issue was brought to the table. By the time that the last issue was brought to the table, the twelve people sitting at the table already had finished their lunch.

**Interior Courtyard¸ Camelot Palace**

**Avalon, Britannia**

Hermione was sitting at a wooden bench surrounded by beautiful flowering plants. She was sitting far enough from where she can see Harry was practicing dueling using a saber with Lord Alexander so that she cannot hear the two of them shouting as they lunged at one another, and yet close enough so that she may watch just in case.

She would have seated herself right next to the dueling area, there are numerous wooden benches in the area that are probably for those who wish to watch those who are practicing, but she needed the silence so that she may read her book, _Transfiguration Made Easy_, a book that she had found at the Imperial library that she had never read before. Curiously enough, the name of the book was also listed at her reference list, a list of books that she would have loved to read, yet never had found copy of them. The young witch was sure that if she presents her reference list to the head librarian at the library, he would be able to find every single one of those books that are in her list.

After finishing the first ten chapters of the book, she shifted her gaze towards where Harry and Lord Alexander are standing. It was clear that her would-be husband was nowhere near the prowess of the Imperial High Admiral when it comes to using those swords. She had seen the Imperial High Admiral practice motions, which she equates with a graceful dance, while holding two swords. Harry can barely manage to hold one up with both of his hands.

She had learned that Lord Alexander had been utterly disappointed at learning that he would not be able to duel Harry when they first met, and that, instead, he would have to instill the discipline first to the younger man who just turns out to be his king. Lord Alexander had made it abundantly clear to Harry that just because he would be king does not mean that he can expect him, Lord Alexander, to go easy on him. He then went on to tell him that his status would make him harder on him, since Kings are supposed to be able to hold swords and be able to defend themselves with it. That was more than two weeks ago.

According to Harry, the only thing remotely good about that conversation that He had with the Imperial High Admiral was when Harry told him that because of his stay with the Dursley's, he had been unable to get proper exercise. Lord High Admiral York told them that that is not even a proper excuse, but all the same, he would make a _personal_ visit to Number Four very soon.

Group Captain Lupin appeared in front of Hermione, he was no longer wearing his military uniform, instead, he was wearing something that Hermione had seen most males inside the palace are wearing, dress shirts. In the case of the male servants, their dress shirts are white with matching red tie, but in the case of Group Captain Lupin, his dress shirt was black without tie, and his sleeves are not full, meaning, they only cover ¾ of his upper arms.

"I trust that you are comfortable with the notion of Alex beating up Harry?" Group Captain Lupin asked, making Hermione turn towards him. When the future queen of Britannia was looking at him, the Group Captain indicated the empty space beside Hermione and asked, "May I?"

"Please" Hermione said, she moved a bit to allow her books more room, while Group Captain Lupin simply shook his head as he took his seat. When he was seated, he and Hermione looked towards where Harry is, and found him mimicking the movement that the Imperial Lord High Admiral is showing him.

Hermione turned towards Group Captain Lupin, "I do not understand why Harry needs to go through this" she complained, "He is already proficient with his magic, I do not see the need for him to study hand-to-hand combat"

Group Captain Lupin sighed, he indicated the greatcoat of High Admiral York, which was hanging on a clothes rack with the help of a hanger, "Do you see that medal that he has on his right chest, the one with the red and blue cross?" and when Hermione nodded, the Group Captain continued, "That is the Britannian Cross, it is the highest award given to a citizen of Britannia, akin to the Medal of Honor and the Victoria Cross"

Hermione blinked, she cannot see where the Group Captain is heading with this, so she decided to continue discussion about Lord Alexander York. She turned towards Group Captain Lupin and asked, "How did Lord Alexander get his?"

Group Captain Lupin sighed, "Hermione, before I answer that, can you answer this question first?" when Hermione nodded, Group Captain Lupin continued, "Do you think that Hogwarts is the best school for young witches and wizards?"

Hermione nodded automatically, but after a few moments of enthusiastic nodding, she suddenly paused and then said, "When I first went there, I thought so, but now that I think about it, given the things that had happened while we were there? I do not think so anymore"

Group Captain Lupin smiled, "Once, Hogwarts was the best magical school in the world" he said, "and then Dumbledore came along." He indicated Lord Alexander, "Alexander Charles York is magical, he is one of our more powerful wizards, and while we think that he is weaker compared to our Prince, there is no doubt that he is more powerful than me and Tonks combined. Hell, combine me with most of the Order and we'd probably still pale in comparison with him, but he does not want to use his magic anymore"

"Why?" Hermione asked, she was genuinely intrigued with the story of the Lord High Admiral.

"Lord Alexander is only six years older than you, Hermione, which makes him seven years older than Harry, but already had seen too much combat" Group Captain Lupin said, "He was your age when he took his Britannian Cross," he smiled ironically, "it was for killing the woman that he loves with all of his heart with his own hands'

Hermione dropped the book that she was holding in surprise, she looked at the Group Captain and asked him wordlessly if he was pranking her, but he shook his head, "You would never see it, but he wears a necklace with a heart device all the time in addition to his standard tags." Group Captain Lupin said, he sighed and then added, "Her name was Veronica, she was the same age as Harry now when she died, a most beautiful and caring lady, you remind me so much of her, and I do believe that the good High Admiral is reminded of her when he saw you" he smiled, "And that is why he is determined to drill our young king to no ends"

"He fears that what happened to him might happen to us" Hermione whispered, she was afraid of raising her voice, afraid that the older man would hear her as she said that, when Group Captain Lupin nodded, she added, "Why did he have to do it?" she asked.

Group Captain Lupin sighed, "Veronica, Nica, was a researcher, a magic researcher" he explained, "On the day that she was killed, she was taken over by a demon, a demon so powerful that there was no choice but to kill her." Group Captain Lupin stared right at Hermione's eyes, "Did you know that the killing curse cannot be used for suicide?" Hermione shook her head, "Yeah, you can't kill yourself with it, anyway, Nica managed to regain enough control to try to use the killing curse on herself, but since you can't, it left her in a state of perpetual pain. She was able to stop the demon in her body, contain it within herself, but she knew that one day she would lose control of it."

"She begged him to kill her didn't she?" Hermione asked, again, her voice was a mere whisper.

Group Captain Lupin nodded, "Alex begged her to fight for him, even though he knew just how much pain she is going through, in the end, he did the deed" he hung his head, and then sighed, he paused for a few moments, it was clear that he was uncomfortable with this, "He used his magic to take away her pain first, she made two small request of him, she wanted to see his smiling face one last time, and that was what he did, he smiled for her, and to take the Britannian Cross that she was sure would be given to him, he agreed. After that, he made her fall asleep, and then he used his magic to separate her soul from her body" he paused yet again, and then sighed once more, "No one knows what happened after that, Lord Alexander asked everyone to leave him alone, and that was what we did, when he emerged from the room some five hours later, his face was a mess, his uniform was torn, bloody and caked with tears, and the room, save for the resting place of Nica, was a battlefield, there was nothing in there that was not on the bed that was whole after he was done." Group Captain Lupin looked at where his king and the Lord High Admiral were again practicing, before adding, while still looking at them, "The Lord High Admiral disappeared for two weeks after that, he came back right after Nica was buried, and since then, he had never used his magic, some speculated that his magic had left his body, while others say that he hated it, since it was the one that took his beloved away from him, either way, since that time, he had always used either a sword or a gun when he is fighting"

"He sees himself in Harry and me in Nica?" Hermione asked.

Group Captain Lupin nodded, "Lord Alexander equates himself so much with our king" he said, "Parents died when he was young, abused by foster parents who never wanted him, fell in love with his best-friend, and now, willing to do anything for that friend, almost everything that Harry went through in his life, Alex went through as well"

"And Nica?" Hermione asked.

Group Captain Lupin nodded, "First in her class, friendless, the target of bullies even when she was young, afraid of admitting her love for the person that she fell for" he said, he looked at Hermione and said, "He sees her in you"

"It seems so foolish though" Hermione countered as she picked the book that fell from her lap earlier and then he indicated the training, "and I do not see how this would help Harry if that should happen, other than to kill me with the sword, perhaps"

"Perhaps" Group Captain Lupin replied, "though have you considered that he is doing this because he wants Harry to be strong? Alex blamed himself, he blames himself, for Nica, he does not want Harry to go through everything that he went through"

Hermione looked at the Lord High Admiral just in time to see him picking up Harry's sword. Evidently, the king of Britannia had dropped his sword once again. Harry and the Lord High Admiral were both wearing shirts designed for dueling, and when the High Admiral bent over to pick the sword, Hermione caught a glimpse of a pendant that the Lord High Admiral is wearing. For some reason, it was open, and despite the distance, she can see the picture that was inside the heart shaped device. The male picture to the right portion was, without a doubt, Lord Alexander, and she guessed that the female on the other side was Veronica.

Hermione paused and then she nodded as she looked at Harry. She sighed and then decided that she would follow what Lord Alexander wants to do, she would not allow her and Harry to follow the story that the Lord High Admiral and his Veronica went through. She would be strong for him, and he would be strong for her.

* * *

><p>AN: I apologize for the age problem, I've done some basic computations and had to remind myself that this takes place after OoTP, which would make Harry fifteen to sixteen and Hermione would sixteen to seventeen. It would be too unbelievable if the Lord High Admiral is only nineteen or twenty, so I had to make him twenty five to twenty six, makes it a little improbable but not really impossible. Thanks for reading


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